{"id":951227,"date":"2026-01-01T08:23:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T08:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.polygon.com\/?p=445448"},"modified":"2026-01-01T08:23:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T08:23:40","slug":"as-other-pubs-make-short-sighted-unforced-errors-free-league-keeps-crushing-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/as-other-pubs-make-short-sighted-unforced-errors-free-league-keeps-crushing-it\/","title":{"rendered":"As other pubs make short-sighted, unforced errors, Free League keeps crushing it"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A
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Stepping outside the shadow of\u00a0Dungeons & Dragons<\/a>\u00a0is a challenging proposition for even the most innovative tabletop publishers. But as the industry\u2019s 800-pound gorilla has spent the last few years making unforced errors,\u00a0Free League Publishing<\/a>\u00a0just keeps\u2026 making people happy. <\/p>\n

For the second year in a row, and for the fourth time in the last five years, the Swedish publisher brought home the Ennie Award<\/a>\u2019s coveted Publisher of the Year award \u2013 the only award directly voted on by fans. For CEO Tomas H\u00e4renstam, it\u2019s just more evidence that his ambitious company is going in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just blown away,\u201d H\u00e4renstam told Polygon in an interview on the floor of the Gen Con tabletop gaming convention in Indianapolis. \u201cIt was a really humbling and great night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Founded in 2011, Free League has created for itself a wide-ranging catalog of tabletop role-playing games. From reimagined legacy lines like The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying<\/a>, Dragonbane, and Mutant: Year Zero<\/a>; to extraordinary licensed properties like Alien<\/a>, Blade Runner<\/a>, and The Walking Dead<\/a>; to novel new ranges like Vaesen and M\u00f6rk Borg<\/a>, the hits just keep on coming. But rather than grow the business even further, H\u00e4renstam said it\u2019s time to buckle down and support the many lines already out in the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the last month or year even, we are shifting focus a little bit from looking at new franchises, new properties, to supporting \u2014 a little bit more \u2014 what we have,\u201d H\u00e4renstam said. \u201cBecause we have a bunch! More than a dozen, and they all need to be supported. We don\u2019t want to give away any of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Job number one, H\u00e4renstam said, is refreshing the popular Alien The Roleplaying<\/em> Game<\/em>, which first entered development more than seven years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe major things that we\u2019re doing is we\u2019re discussing adding a solo mode,\u201d H\u00e4renstam said. \u201cIt just opens up a whole way of interacting with a game without the constraints of having to get people to the table, which \u2014 it\u2019s a lot of fun, but it might not always be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also on the docket is support for playing the game with miniatures. That includes full-color painted maps of starships and planets as well as a new line of Alien miniatures. But don\u2019t expect a full, standalone skirmish game a la Mutant: Year Zero – Zone Wars<\/em>. Instead, the TTRPG itself \u2013 the core rulebook and supplementary materials \u2013 will have everything players need to run thematic skirmish combat as part of the larger role-play experience.<\/p>\n

But what about the other<\/em> jewel in Free League\u2019s crown, the much-touted partnership with AMC for The Walking Dead: Roleplaying Game<\/em> and an accompanying high-concept actual play? Turns out the ball is currently in the media company\u2019s court.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast I checked, it\u2019s taking a bit longer than I think we initially planned it to, but as far as I know it\u2019s still happening,\u201d H\u00e4renstam said. \u201cI don\u2019t know exactly when and how. That is actually on the AMC side, the live-play. We\u2019re doing it together, but it\u2019s through them. I don\u2019t control the calendar exactly on that, but we are definitely hoping to see it come to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Stepping outside the shadow of\u00a0Dungeons & Dragons\u00a0is a challenging proposition for even the most innovative tabletop publishers. But as the industry\u2019s 800-pound gorilla has spent the last few years making unforced errors,\u00a0Free League Publishing\u00a0just keeps\u2026 making people happy. For the second year in a row, and for the fourth time in the last five years, the Swedish publisher brought home the Ennie Award\u2019s coveted Publisher of the Year award \u2013 the only award directly voted on by fans. For CEO Tomas H\u00e4renstam, it\u2019s just more evidence that his ambitious company is going in the right direction. \u201cI\u2019m just blown away,\u201d H\u00e4renstam told Polygon in an interview on the floor of the Gen Con tabletop gaming convention in Indianapolis. \u201cIt was a really humbling and great…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":951228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-951227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-polygon"],"yoast_head":"\nAs other pubs make short-sighted, unforced errors, Free League keeps crushing it | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stepping outside the shadow of\u00a0Dungeons & Dragons\u00a0is a challenging proposition for even the most innovative tabletop publishers. 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