The video game and tabletop industries are facing significant challenges, including widespread layoffs and financial difficulties. Creators from prominent franchises like XCOM and Gloomhaven have proposed collaborations between video games and their tabletop counterparts as a potential solution to bolster the industry.
Julian Gollop, the creator of XCOM, highlighted the substantial overlap between video game and board game player bases, noting that "people are looking for popular IPs." He emphasized that this cross-pollination can provide a more stable revenue stream. Isaac Childres, the creator of Gloomhaven, echoed this sentiment, explaining that royalties from digital adaptations of his games have been crucial for his company, Cephalofair Games, particularly in navigating increased tariffs. "That's been nice and sort of keeping us steady and confident in our position to move forward with our other products," Childres stated.
Snapshot Games, founded by Gollop, is developing a digital version of Gloomhaven and has a tactical role-playing game adaptation of Frosthaven currently in early access. "The royalties we're receiving from both Gloomhaven Digital and Frosthaven Digital is certainly welcome in this time when we have to face those extra tariffs," Childres said. Hristo Petkov, game director for the Frosthaven adaptation, added that board game adaptations offer video game studios a built-in audience and clear mechanics, making them a more predictable investment.
"It gives us a little bit of stability and predictability compared to starting a fresh project or fresh IP that would take a lot more creative work," Petkov told Polygon. "Of course, everybody wants to do creative projects, but the game industry is not that stable at the moment, so any stability you can get is welcome."
These collaborations can also manifest in the reverse direction, with tabletop games being developed based on established video game franchises. Modiphius is creating a tactical miniatures game for XCOM, Archon Studios is developing a StarCraft miniatures game, and Czech Games is publishing a board game based on Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Renegade Game Studios is also releasing a tabletop role-playing game set in the universe of Exodus.
Petkov suggested that older IPs like StarCraft and XCOM benefit from a nostalgia factor, appealing to players in their 30s and 40s who may have more disposable income and seek more relaxed gaming experiences. "It's a good marketing opportunity," he noted.
Gollop, however, pointed to the prevalence of players revisiting older titles as a contributing factor to the current industry crisis. "People tend to be playing old games they used to play a long time ago, and they don’t want to give them up for new games," he explained. "Now companies are competing with this huge back catalog of games that people want to continue playing. It’s tricky."
Cephalofair Games has shifted its focus to smaller projects following disruptions in the delivery of Gloomhaven: Second Edition due to new tariffs. An expansion for the solo Gloomhaven game Buttons & Bugs and a new drafting game called Mercenaries Wanted are set to release later this year. Childres expressed that the viability of larger projects like Frosthaven is now in question given the economic climate and tariffs, emphasizing the importance of offering a diverse range of products.
Childres also noted that the stability provided by licensing has allowed Cephalofair to avoid the pitfalls of crowdfunding, where some companies use new campaigns to fund unfulfilled previous projects. "It’s a pretty precarious position to be in financially, and luckily that’s not the case for us," he said. "We are considering whether we need to crowdfund anything in the future because we have such a strong audience right now that we are able to just put out games normally."
While not all collaborations offer the same level of security, they can distribute the burden of game development. The board game adaptation of Cult of the Lamb has already raised significant funds on Kickstarter, as has Starfinder: Afterlight. In a landscape where successful launches are increasingly rare, these cross-media partnerships offer a beacon of hope for the industry.