The Walking Dead Universe will feel "like you're writing, directing, and starring in your own TWD episode"

The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Game is a new tabletop RPG that will challenge you to scavenge, survive, and face life or death choices in a post-apocalyptic sandbox.

Developed by Free League (the studio behind Alien: The Roleplaying Game), it uses the Zero Year Engine that powers some of the best tabletop RPGs. It'll also emphasize a battle for your humanity rather than just fights with the undead. According to producer Joe LeFavi, The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Game is "not about killing walkers. It's not about losing health points and fighting to stay alive. It's about losing your humanity and fighting to find and protect what’s worth living, killing, and dying for". 

With that in mind, classic survival game tropes like building a settlement will be an important part of the game's DNA. Lead writer Nils Hintze stated in a press release that "the place you call home should become a rich, three-dimensional character with its own origins, attributes, and memories". We don't have details about how this will work just yet, but finding all the gear you need to simply scrape by is a major part of the experience. More specifically, Free League co-founder Tomas Härenstam says that you can "spend days just scavenging ruins and testing survival skills. Or blur it all into the background to focus upon the compelling human drama".

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Because this is part of a 'long-term alliance' with AMC (the network behind The Walking Dead TV show), the RPG draws its inspiration from the series and its spin-offs. Indeed, head of AMC networks publishing Mike Zagari noted that each session should feel "like you're writing, directing, and starring in your own TWD episode".

The Walking Dead tabletop RPG will hit Kickstarter in Spring 2023 and should arrive on store shelves at the end of the year with a core rulebook, starter set, and premium accessories. That means it won't be included in this year's roundup of Black Friday gaming deals, but Free League's other products are already seeing discounts, so you can always check them out for a better sense of how this one's going to work.

To boost your collection, don't forget to check out the upcoming Black Friday board game deals or D&D Black Friday deals. Plenty of offers are already rolling in for the Black Friday Warhammer deals, too.