Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive TTRPG Makes $1M In Under An Hour

The highly anticipated Stormlight Archives TTRPG Kickstarter--now renamed the Cosmere RPG--broke the million dollar barrier in under an hour, joining the million dollar Kickstarter club.

Published by Brotherwise Games, the game encompasses Brandon Sanderson's entire universe of novels. It includes a world guide, a rulebook, and an adventure called Stormlight Stonewalkers. It's a new game system, based on a d20 mechanic with talent trees and skill-based magic.

The question now is whether it can beat the Avatar Legends TTRPG's almost $10M record? Avatar hit the million dollar mark after the first few hours, so--at least at this point--the Cosmere RPG is tracking ahead of it. Brandon Sanderson already holds the Kickstarter record for the most funded project ever--his novel series made over $40M on Kickstarter in 2023!

 

[Parmandur]

Apparently they have no idea how to pace the stretch goals by funding or backers, because of the unprecedented territory, so they are just rolling it out slowly. First day us an extra d6 and the following world intro pamphlet to hand a new player:

 

[Divine2021]

I’m just saying it’s a niche product in a niche fan base of a niche genre.

We’re really stretching the definition of niche here. There is a consistent refusal among some people to acknowledge how popular Sanderson’s works are and how much money they make. It’s just silly at this point.

 

[Reynard]

We’re really stretching the definition of niche here. There is a consistent refusal among some people to acknowledge how popular Sanderson’s works are and how much money they make. It’s just silly at this point.

Maybe, but I think @DarkCrisis is right to suggest that this game, regardless of how much money it makes, is not going to revolutionize the RPG hobby or industry.

 

[DarkCrisis]

We’re really stretching the definition of niche here. There is a consistent refusal among some people to acknowledge how popular Sanderson’s works are and how much money they make. It’s just silly at this point.

I am well aware of how popular he is but he’s not D&D or Tolkien populr. He’s not even Buffy the Vampire Slayer or heck a Michael Crichton or Steven King. The geekdom is not the end all be all.

Normies know like LotRs and Star Wars etc. Some to most Geeks know Sanderson.

Im not trying to yuck your yum, and his is popular amongst a set of folk but he’s not as well known as you might think.

I wasn’t aware he existed until like 2 years ago and that was due to WoT and I’ve been leaving the fantasy genre nerd life well before he wrote his first book.

 

[bedir than]

I’m just saying it’s a niche product in a niche fan base of a niche genre.

I’m sure it will do well and his fans will be happy but at the end of the day the rpg will be a blip on the radar for 5 minutes. It’s not going to rock the rpg world.

Nothing wrong with that. I’ve owned several RPGs like that. Dresden Files comes to mind.

With this product alone the company is likely to take in more revenue than all by a handful of rpg companies

 

[Reynard]

With this product alone the company is likely to take in more revenue than all by a handful of rpg companies

That is not likely to translate to impact on the hobby.

Will anyone be playing this game in 2 years?

 

[DarkCrisis]

That is not likely to translate to impact on the hobby.

Will anyone be playing this game in 2 years?

If the fandom stays involved and they keeps making product to buy, the collectors will keep buying. Even if it sits on a bookshelf never to see ply (but hope springs eternal it will see play).

Man, I wish I had time to play all the RPGs I own. Once a week is all I have time for and that’s D&D.

Once I retire because I can. I longer physically work and become homeless I can play whatever with the other destitute. Until exposure or starvation gets me.

 

[Aldarc]

I’m just saying it’s a niche product in a niche fan base of a niche genre.

I’m sure it will do well and his fans will be happy but at the end of the day the rpg will be a blip on the radar for 5 minutes. It’s not going to rock the rpg world.

Nothing wrong with that. I’ve owned several RPGs like that. Dresden Files comes to mind.

I do agree that "it's not going to rock the RPG world," but that's generally the case with IP-licensed RPGs.

To be clear, my sense of rocking the TTRPG world is a game that triggers a paradigm shift in part or all of the hobby, particularly in the design space. Avatar Legends, for example, monetarily rocked the world of crowdfunded TTRPGs, but it was using a system that 10+ years old by that point. However, the game system it is based on? Apocalypse World. That game did rock the TTRPG World. It was a game that a LOT of TTRPG designers passed around and talked about, even if their TTRPGs weren't PbtA.

We’re really stretching the definition of niche here. There is a consistent refusal among some people to acknowledge how popular Sanderson’s works are and how much money they make. It’s just silly at this point.

I don't doubt any of these things. I do, however, share skepticism with others of how much play and/or design impact this particular game will have on the TTRPG hobby.

 

[SteveC]

That is not likely to translate to impact on the hobby.

Will anyone be playing this game in 2 years?

I think this is a very good point. From looking at the thread on million-dollar Kickstarters, I don't think most of them have had any significant impact on the hobby. There are obvious exceptions, like Shadowdark, but how many people are playing Avatar today? It seems to me that licensed products like this get a huge group of fans of the license to pick them up, but how much does that translate into long-term interest?

I've watched a video on the game, and it seems decent and something that I would play. None of the members of my gaming groups are talking about it, though, so I doubt I'm going to have the chance to try it out.

 

[Zaukrie]

Are there many monsters in the non mistborn books? I'm not interested in mostly fighting humans and alternative humans.