RPG: ‘Traveller’ Goes 5E With A Massive New Book Set On The Horizon
Mongoose Publishing and World’s Largest RPGs are teaming up to make a 5E version of Traveller – but don’t worry it’s not a replacement.
Traveller is one of the oldest RPGs still in the works today. It’s been going since 1977 without stopping, and it’s currently hard to say what edition it’s in because the license to publish it has changed hands a few times over the years. Right now, though, it’s with Mongoose Publishing and is currently in a “2nd Edition.” If you haven’t played it, you should check it out – it’s one of the best sci-fi RPGs out there, and has been building on almost 40 years of lore. The Traveller universe is its own beast.
And soon, more people may join it, thanks to a new deal from Mongoose Publishing and World’s Largest RPGs. As announced on Bluesky, the two companies have reached an agreement to license a version of Traveller using the D&D 5th Edition ruleset.
Traveller Goes 5E
If you were worried that this new deal for Traveller means an end to the current Mongoose system (which is based on the old Traveller), don’t. It’s not a replacement, just an expansion. But based on the announcement, it sounds like it’s a huge expansion.
Although that makes sense, considering it’s World’s Largest RPGs that’s behind it. These are the folks behind the recent update of World’s Largest Dungeon, a massive, megadungeon packed into a behemoth of a book.
Now, they aim to tackle Traveller with similar aplomb. The 5E version of Traveller will end up with something like 4-5 books and a 2000-page slipcase edition. Additionally, World’s Largest plans to take it beyond the existing universe, “paving the way for new settings.”
That is pure marketing speak, though. Because your can already do that with Traveller. And that makes it hard to know at this stage what “new settings” could mean. Maybe something with wormholes to be like “hey check out this other campaign world.” But it could mean something like a galaxy-builder’s guide for 5E in the future. We’ll have to wait and see.
Shepherding Traveller 5E is none other than Timothy Brown. Brown worked for Games Design Workshop (the original publishers of Traveller), specifically on Traveller: 2300 and then later Traveller 4E for Imperium Games. Joining Brown is a team of “Traveller and 5E experts” as well as Mongoose developers.
What does this mean for the future of Traveller? Hopefully good things. Certainly it’s possible for two RPG systems to flourish with the same setting. Free League’s The One Ring exists right alongside its Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E. And we frequently see releases for both. My hope is that this adds new players to the venerable sci-fi RPG’s pool. But, we’ll have to see! Keep an eye out in 2026 for this new Traveller creation.
Traveller in 5E, who’d have thought?
