Publisher Awaken Realms, known for both tabletop and video games, revealed multiple projects in today’s “AR Next” livestream! This coincided with a few campaign previews going live on Gamefound, too, so be sure to check out the AR account there.

Below, I’ll briefly break down the new tabletop games that AR discussed during today’s stream. I’ll omit the video games, and existing announcements like Labyrinth Chronicles. Note that Agricola: Dead Harvest was postponed, via email.

Awaken Realms remains a personal favorite among board game publishers! And I declare that without any sponsorship (despite my best efforts). I just appreciate their overarching art style, selected themes, component quality, and the general ratio of content to price tag. They’ve also had a lot of cooperative games, which my wife and I enjoy most!

So, I couldn’t resist the chance to reflect on some projects from today’s AR Next. Here’s the full video for complete details, direct from their official YouTube channel:

Tamashii: The Final Amendment

This follows up on the original Tamashii, a cyberpunk co-op adventure set in Japan. Although it wasn’t exactly what we wanted, it does feature a neat little “programming” system about building patterns. It also has strong pacing, and a lighter weight than expected.

The Final Amendment is a standalone expansion, bringing the chaos to the United States. I’m curious to see if it relates to turbulent current events, somehow. Anyway, the expansion will include “new bodies” to switch between, and more replayable scenarios.

The GF campaign preview also mentions that “bodies and classes” are compatible between this expansion and the original game! This is the kind of convenient feature that draws me to AR.

Concordia: Special Edition

Concordia is a popular strategy game from over a decade ago, about economy and appeasing the gods in ancient Rome.

Awaken Realms has consistently released some pretty effective “Special Editions” of classic games. It polishes them up with dazzling new components and other light changes, inviting a fresh generation of fans. Since I adore Awaken Realm’s visual feasts in general, these are fun ventures. Though, not necessarily as exciting as new content.

Scoundrels

Scoundrels is a co-op dungeon crawler based on the stealth and gameplay of AR’s impressive STALKER adaptation from 2024. Yes, video game fans, it has a board game.

Surprisingly, Scoundrels is set in the upcoming Lands of Evershade universe. My wife and I went all in on that campaign, but it hasn’t actually released yet. So, it’s a bold choice to invest even further in an unproven IP. I choose to take this as an encouraging sign of trust in Evershade.

I’m unsure about the silly, partly crass tone of Scoundrels, which appears to contradict previews of Evershade. But, I hope for the best thanks to its gameplay plans.

I also appreciate the opportunity to enjoy a swift, punchy visit to Evershade’s universe. You know, without dedicating the entirety of your retirement years to a game.

Nemesis Legacy

Well, the IP appeared to be complete, and now we have more Nemesis. While I do feel this is a little odd after declaring the end, today’s announcements are distinct enough for me personally.

Nemesis Legacy features a different designer, and a unique legacy format with a full campaign based on Retaliation. It will also have a new intruder race and other unlocked content that’s compatible with Retaliation.

The Nemesis Legacy campaign comes to Gamefound in Q4 2026.

The campaign will have a “reprint of all Nemesis stuff,” according to today’s livestream. Sorry to my fellow fans who also invested deep out of FOMO, but it’s a major win for those who missed their chance last time. I’ll just look at how callously FFG fumbles Marvel Champions, then rejoice about this.

Awaken Realms played this one very close to the chest, with few details. However, we did learn that campaigns should really differ from one player to the next.

The Nemesis RPG

Self-explanatory, with Studio Agate announcing another partnership with AR. I appreciate that the RPG aims to “create a bridge with the board game,” since they’re very different markets. It isn’t quite as straightforward as fantasy adaptations.

The notion of learning to play the RPG as you go shows a lot of understanding. Board gamers might not be so quick to absorb the extensive core books found among most RPGs! They’re huge, and intimidating.

The full campaign and solo mode are also very exciting. In addition to the obvious convenience, Solo mode also gives newcomers a chance to discover RPGs on their own before committing to game night with an experienced group.

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