The first Gamefound campaign a year ago raised over 1,600 people and €165,000—a seemingly successful effort. But THQ Nordic paused the project, citing a desire to incorporate numerous community suggestions. Now, on September 30th, the campaign is relaunching, and the developers claim the game has become completely different.
Tellingly, over the past year, the team hasn’t simply polished the mechanics; they’ve rebuilt a significant portion of the system. They’ve added a new class—the Fire Mage Acolyte—and runic magic, and events have been completely removed from the card deck and placed into a separate campaign book. Their number has even increased, despite the fact that there are fewer cards. The mountain valley is now alive and reacts to every action: if you provoke the orcs frequently, new episodes will begin to emerge in certain regions—a pleasant surprise for those who enjoy non-linearity.
By the way, preparing for battle has become easier—the developers have removed unnecessary tokens and eliminated the tedious process of setting up scenarios. Now, a single session lasts around 2-3 hours (estimates vary from 120 to 180 minutes), so it’s quite possible to play a game in the evening without splitting it into two days.
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First Campaign: Why Stop if Everything Was Going Well?
With 332% of the baseline goal, THQ Nordic’s decision seemed counterintuitive. But the company explained: they received so many fan suggestions that they decided not to release a “raw” version, but to give themselves a year to rework it. During this time, the mechanics have truly come close to the computer version of Gothic – according to the developers, it’s no longer just a tabletop game “based on,” but a standalone adaptation with deep systemic solutions.
A Year of Refinements: What’s Removed, What’s Added
In addition to the new class and runic magic, the randomness system has been reworked: previously, it was determined by cards, now by the campaign book, adding narrative depth. A dynamic environment has been added – your decisions influence the map, not the other way around. We’ve simplified scenario preparation and reduced the number of tokens, reducing the hassle and giving us more time to play. The prototypes are already with reviewers; their feedback is expected until September, so we’ll have more information by the campaign launch.
What’s next?
The team is finishing up the campaign with NPCs and quests, followed by intensive balance testing. A release date hasn’t been announced yet—early materials hinted at February 2026, but it appears these plans have been pushed back.
Where and how to support the project: September 30th
The Gamefound page is already open for pre-subscription. Sign up before launch to receive bonus dice with the Sleeper symbol—a small, but nice, bonus. Important: the game will only be available through Gamefound; there are no plans for a retail version. Payment can be split into installments via Stretch Pay, and English, German, and Polish will be supported at launch. The campaign link is easy to find on THQ Nordic’s official social media. Mark the date – September 30th – and don’t miss out: last time, the rewards were snapped up very quickly.
