Free League Publishing

Fria Ligan (Free League)

Industry	Role-playing game and Book publisher
Founded	2011
Headquarters	Stockholm, Sweden
Number of employees	20
Website	freeleaguepublishing.com

Free League Publishing (Swedish: Fria Ligan) is a game studio and publisher based in Stockholm, Sweden, formed in 2011. The company designs and publishes tabletop role-playing games, board games, and books based on licensed properties and independent works. Their games include Alien: The Roleplaying Game, Vaesen, and Mörk Borg . ^{[1] [2]}

History

After the Swedish publisher Järnringen closed in 2011, founder Järnringen got in touch with some role-playing game enthusiasts to ask if they wanted to take over development of the role-playing game Svavelvinter, which led to the formation of Free League Publishing. ^[3]

The publisher has had a series of successful crowdfunding campaigns. ^[4] Between 2015 and 2022, their Kickstarter campaigns managed to gather 100 million SEK (10 million USD) in total funding. ^[2]

Major releases

Games

• Alien: The Roleplaying Game ^[5] (Gold ENNIE for Best Game 2020 ^[6] )
• Blade Runner: The Roleplaying Game based on the film and its spinoffs. ^{[7] [8]} (It won Gold ENNIE for Best Cartography and Organization & Design 2023 ^[9] )
• The One Ring Roleplaying Game second edition, ^[10] (Gold ENNIE for Best Art, Interior 2022) set in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth setting. It was created by War of the Ring designer Francesco Nepitello and The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying, the game's 5th Edition OGL sister line. ^[11]
• Twilight: 2000 , a sandbox post-apocalyptic survival game set in an alternate history in which the Soviet Union never collapsed and the Cold War between the two superpowers went hot. ^[12]
• Vaesen , a Nordic horror roleplaying game ^[13] based on the works by Johan Egerkrans (Gold ENNIE for Best Art, Interior 2021 ^[14] ) and its supplement Mythic Britain & Ireland (Gold ENNIE for Best Art, Interior and Best Setting 2023 ^[15] ).
• Mörk Borg , a stylized grimdark fantasy RPG ^[16] (Silver ENNIE for Best Game 2020 ^[17] .)
• Tales from the Loop , a TTRPG set in an alternative 1980s and based on the work of visual artist Simon Stålenhag. A sequel, Things from the Flood, takes place in the 1990s.
• The Electric State, a TTRPG set in an alternative California of the 1990s and also based on the work of visual artist Simon Stålenhag.
• Forbidden Lands , a sandbox fantasy survival RPG ^[18] (winner of four ENNIE Awards 2019 ^[19] )
• Mutant: Year Zero , a post-apocalyptic RPG. ^[20] (Silver ENNIE for Best Rules 2015 ^[21] )
• Coriolis – The Third Horizon, a space-set RPG. (ENNIE Judge's Spotlight Award 2017 ^[22] .)
• Symbaroum, a gritty fantasy RPG. ^{[23] [24]}
• Drakar och Demoner , an RPG released in updated form as Dragonbane in English.
• The Walking Dead Universe Roleplaying Game, based on AMC's The Walking Dead television series.
• Crusader Kings, a board game based on the Crusader Kings strategy computer game.

Other awards

In addition to winning ENNIE Awards for multiple games, Free League Publishing won the Publisher of the Year award in 2020, 2021, 2023, and 2024. ^[1]

Other publications

Free League has also published the art books Tales from the Loop,Things from the Flood, and The Electric State by Simon Stålenhag, as well as the illustrated edition of the Lovecraft story "The Call of Cthulhu" by French artist François Baranger.

External links

• Official website (English)

References

1. Hall, Charlie (2024-08-29). "As other TTRPG pubs keep self-sabotaging, Free League is running away with it". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
2. Björk, Carl (26 September 2022). "Rusning till rollspel efter crowdfunding". Dagens Industri (in Swedish). p. 31.
3. Krauklis, Anna-Karin; Linder Krauklis, Daniel (2015). Finna dolda ting (in Swedish). Galago. p. 239. ISBN   9789170378737.
4. Karsten, Emanuel (7 November 2018). "De har knäckt koden: Så lyckas du med crowdfunding idag". Breakit (in Swedish). Retrieved 3 March 2024.
5. Jansen-Parkes, Richard (2019-12-10). "Alien: The Roleplaying Game review - a terrific blast of sci-fi horror that stands apart from the movie". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
6. "2020 Nominees and Judges Spotlight Winners | ENNIE Awards". ennie-awards.com. 2020-07-11. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
7. Nelson, Samantha (2022-12-13). "Blade Runner TTRPG nails Ridley Scott's vision, adds pitch-perfect investigative mechanics". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
8. Meehan, Alex (2024-05-20). "New Blade Runner RPG expansion asks how far you'd go for the Replicant Rebellion". Dicebreaker. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
9. "2023 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards" . Retrieved 2023-09-16.
10. Codega, Linda (2022-02-07). "The One Ring tabletop RPG is a cozy take on The Lord of the Rings". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
11. Wieland, Rob. "Lord Of The Rings Roleplaying Returns To Fifth Edition D&D". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
12. "Twilight 2000 - War Never Changes | Review". No Dice Unrolled. 2021-11-16. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
13. Paltridge, Peter (2020-07-10). "Free League Announces Their New RPG, Vaesen - popgeeks.com" . Retrieved 2023-09-16.
14. "2021 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards" . Retrieved 2023-09-16.
15. "2023 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards" . Retrieved 2023-09-16.
16. Katie Wickens (2023-09-04). "Mork Borg review: "This game will consume you"". gamesradar. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
17. "2020 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards" . Retrieved 2023-09-16.
18. Wieland, Rob. "Forbidden Lands Offers Old-School Gaming With Modern Sensibilities". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
19. "2019 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards" . Retrieved 2023-09-16.
20. Hall, Charlie (2024-06-04). "Mutant Year Zero: Zone Wars has a rock-solid set of rules from Necromunda co-creator Andy Chambers, plus loads of character". Polygon. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
21. "2015 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards" . Retrieved 2023-09-16.
22. "2017 Nominees and Winners – ENNIE Awards" . Retrieved 2023-09-16.
23. Furino, Giaco (2019-05-16). "Symbaroum Tabletop RPG Review - First Impressions From A Fractured World". TechRaptor. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
24. Wieland, Rob. "The Woods Of Symbaroum Are Lovely, Dark And Deep". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-09-16.