RPG: Dire Wolf Acquires Fandom’s Tabletop Arm
Big news in the RPG industry: Fandom announced that Dire Wolf Digital would be acquiring Fandom’s tabletop RPG business, including Tales of Xadia.
Fandom, aka the people who run the wiki for your favorite TV show, movie, or book, announced today that Dire Wolf Digital will soon acquire Cortex, Fandom’s in-house tabletop RPG business.
Fandom has had some fairly substantial dalliances with the RPG industry. Up until recently they owned D&D Beyond. WotC acquired that toolset earlier this year. And now Dire Wolf Digital, makers of games like Clank and Dune: Imperium, will take on Cortex, and the excellent Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince RPG.
Dire Wolf Digital Acquires Cortex From Fandom
From the creators of D&D Beyond and award-winning designer Cam Banks, the highly-customizable Cortex system empowers tabletop players of all skill levels to build their own worlds, characters, and stories using a standardized set of modular rules and mechanics. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Dire Wolf Digital will now manage the ENNIE award-winning Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince Roleplaying Game, which is based on the critically-acclaimed Netflix series, The Dragon Prince, and created in partnership with Wonderstorm, Inc. Due to its popularity, an expansion—titled “Tales of Xadia: The Sunfire Chronicle”—is already in development.
Wonderstorm spoke about their excitement for the upcoming move, excited to embark on the Sunfire Chronicle, which will take the game into the next season. Meanwhile Fandom’s Chief Business Officer spoke about the sale to Dire Wolf:
“As we looked to exit the RPG business with our recent sale of D&D Beyond to Hasbro, we were laser focused on finding Cortex the right home with a company who would nurture and grow the business with a fan-first mindset. I’m confident we found that with Dire Wolf Digital.”
No word on why Fandom seems to be pivoting out of the publishing business. But expect more as the story develops.
