Hellraiser RPG Announced, with The One Ring Designer Francesco Nepitello at the Helm

Salt Entertainment has secured an agreement with Clive Barker and Park Ave Entertainment LLC to develop officially licensed Hellraiser tabletop games, with Francesco Nepitello set to design and write the roleplaying game and Bloodborne designer Michael Shinall designing a new board game.

The original Hellraiser movie is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary next year, and Salt are aiming for the first of their licensed products to start being released for Halloween 2027, although they haven’t stated which games will arrive first.

Hellraiser has been one of my favorite films for years, so the opportunity to work with Clive Barker, one of the great creative visionaries of our time, is genuinely a dream come true,” said Geoff Skinner, President of Salt Games. “It’s an extraordinary world with four decades of mythology to explore, and one that lends itself beautifully to tabletop gaming. The Lament Configuration is literally a puzzle that opens a door you probably shouldn’t open. How do you not want to play with that?

The initial slate of planned games include a fast playing dice game built around temptation, risk and how far players are willing to push their luck; an escape-room-style tabletop game inspired by the mysteries of the Lament Configuration (the cube puzzle from the movies); and a social deduction game in which hidden desires, shifting loyalties and questionable choices make it increasingly difficult to know who - or what - to trust.

Board game designer Michael Shinall (Bloodborne: The Board Game; Marvel Zombies; A Song of Ice & Fire Tabletop Miniatures Game) is designing a major Hellraiser board game for Salt.

Horror has always fascinated me, particularly the way it gives us a space to explore unease, tension and dread,” said Shinall. “Many franchises focus on threats from outside, but Hellraiser understands that the deepest horrors come from within the human psyche. Bringing those these to the tabletop has been a personal ambition of mine for years, and now I’ve been given the perfect vessel. In short, U have such sights to show you.

The tabletop roleplaying game is also being headed by a man very familiar with working with licensed properties. Francesco Nepitello’s previous credits include games such as the multi-award winning The One Ring RPG (based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien), Dune: War for Arrakis and Age of Conan: The Strategy Board Game, as well as other games based on properties such as Doctor Who, The Golden Compass, Marvel, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Star Wars, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

I wanted to design a horror roleplaying game for years,” said Nepitello. “Getting to do it with Hellraiser is incredibly exciting. Its blend of dread, desire and forbidden knowledge offers so much to explore at the gaming table. I can’t wait to open the box with the players.

For more information, and the full press release, please check out Salt Entertainment’s website.