World of Darkness Announces New Publisher, Free VTM Supplement, and IP Development Changes

Earlier this year, World of Darkness got a new brand creative lead in Justin Achilli. And now, we get word of a fairly considerable shake-up in how World of Darkness and its connected properties will operate going forward.

First of all, Renegade Game Studios will now be publishing WoD’s tabletop properties, including Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. At the same time, World of Darkness will be moving IP development for its story universes in-house. And as a result of all this, in December, we’ll be getting Vampire: The Masquerade Companion – a free digital supplement outlining three new vampire clans and some other new rules.

In order to learn more about the VTM Companion and the other changes, you might want to watch this video:

And check out this press release:

STOCKHOLM – November 12, 2020 – World of Darkness, the transmedia entertainment brand behind celebrated fantasy horror properties including Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse, announced today that Renegade Game Studios is now the Publishing Partner for its catalogue of tabletop role playing games (TTRPG). World of Darkness also revealed it is bringing IP development of its story universes in-house and is kicking off this change with Vampire: The Masquerade Companion, a free digital supplement that brings new playable clans to Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition, that will be available this December.

“Renegade and World of Darkness worked closely together on Vampire: The Masquerade – Rivals and the team proved their passion for our brands and alignment with our values in that collaboration,” said Sean Greaney, Brand Manager for World of Darkness at Paradox Interactive. “Our joint goal is to ensure that there will be no disruption of service for fans looking to get their hands on Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition books.”

“We’re thrilled to work with the World of Darkness team and create exciting content for this rich universe of supernatural horror.” said Scott Gaeta, President and Publisher at Renegade Game Studios. “We look forward to supporting the existing community and welcoming in new players very soon.”

World of Darkness is taking over IP development of its story universes, including Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. Led by World of Darkness Creative Lead Justin Achilli, they will create the foundational material – including core TTRPG books – for all stories set in a World of Darkness franchise, including video games, comics, and other forms of media. Renegade Game Studios, working with local partners globally, will broaden the offering with additional TTRPG products. Additionally, all World of Darkness books will continue to include sensitivity reviews as part of the development process.

“Bringing IP development in-house is one of the many reasons why the World of Darkness team hired me and I’m thrilled to take on this responsibility. I’ll be working with handpicked teams to set the lore, atmosphere, and tone that players have come to expect, and working with partners like Renegade to create compelling stories within that framework,” Achilli said. “Even though I’m leading this process, we’ll continue to work with teams of writers and freelancers. Our goal is to ensure that book development happens with teams that include a diversity of voices.”

While World of Darkness will take over IP development of its core TTRPG books, as publisher, Renegade Game Studios will handle publishing and marketing of these products. Everything that falls outside of the core story setting, as determined by World of Darkness, will be developed and published by Renegade Game Studios.

To learn more about how World of Darkness will develop content, its partnership with Renegade Game Studios, and what all of this means for the future of its TTRPG line up, head over to this blog post: https://www.worldofdarkness.com/news/vampire-the-masquerade-companion-releases-in-december

The Vampire: The Masquerade Companion book brings highly-anticipated Vampire clans from the community into tabletop play and gives Storytellers more tools to enhance their narratives. To download completely free of charge, fans will simply need to visit the World of Darkness website (https://worldofdarkness.com) and log in with a Paradox account.

Vampire: The Masquerade Companion Key Features:

• Three vampire clans: Tzimisce, Ravnos, Salubri
• Discipline powers representing each of the new clans
• How to play rules for ghouls and mortals
• Details on each clan’s view on vampire coteries
• Additional Merits for players’ characters
• Updates to Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition core rulebook

“World of Darkness fans have been asking us for more Vampire: The Masquerade content since we launched the 5th edition core book in 2018. Vampire: The Masquerade Companion is our answer, adding in some of their most-requested features like clan Tzimisce and rules for Mortals”, said Martyna Zych, Brand Community Developer for World of Darkness. “We are listening to our players, and now that we are developing IP in-house, we are equipped to respond to their feedback and produce content like the Companion. This is just one of many products we have in the pipeline, and while we can’t reveal anything else now, I will say that it is a great time to be a World of Darkness fan.”

World of Darkness will share more information about its lineup of announced products including, Second Inquisition, Vampire: The Masquerade Player’s Guide, Werewolf: The Apocalypse core book and more in the coming weeks. The first TTRPG book to release under this new process will be the Sabbat Sect Book. Stay tuned to www.worldofdarkness.com for updates.