Robert Kirkman's franchises The Walking Dead and Invincible have undergone plenty of reinvention for fans over the years through their various adaptations and Skybound Entertainment pitched in to celebrate their joint 20th anniversary by giving both comic book properties a brand-new tabletop outing.
Skybound Entertainment was co-founded by Kirkland and has a prolific multimedia pedigree from the G.I. Joe comics relaunch to the popular party game Superfight. The company's upcoming tabletop projects constitute a collaboration between Skybound Entertainment and the UK-based Mantic Games, a team-up familiar to Walking Dead fans as the companies previously developed tabletop games The Walking Dead: All Out War and The Walking Dead: Here's Negan! Rather than deal in the miniature-centric gameplay featured in their two previous entries, the new Walking Dead and Invincible games will be of the card-and-dice variety.
The Walking Dead and Invincible games will feature "iconic art from Skybound's flagship comic universes, clever mechanics, and exciting push-your-luck gameplay" and launch in late 2023. Though the release is set to coincide with the highly-anticipated second season of Prime Video's animated adaptation of Invincible, early access will be available for attendees of San Diego Comic-Con and Gen Con. Pre-launch editions and bonus cards will be accessible to convention guests interested in sneaking a peek at the upcoming tabletop titles and purchases will become available on both companies' respective websites during that window.
Invincible, Walking Dead Head to the Tabletop
Kirkman celebrated a landmark year in comics in 2003, with the January release of Invincible #1 and the October release of The Walking Dead #1. Both titles went on to amass massive success in comics and later saw hit television adaptations through AMC's ever-expanding Walking Dead universe and Prime's Invincible starring Walking Dead alum and MCU prospect Steven Yeun. In addition to Skybound and Mantic's previous tabletop collaborations with The Walking Dead, the franchise also inspired a Telltale video game and several novelizations. Skybound and Mantic's games offer a unique way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of both stories through a tangible tabletop experience.
From Magic: The Gathering's Lord of the Rings decks to the upcoming Good Omens tabletop tie-in, games have become yet another space for fans to explore their interests in various franchises. While fandom coats of paint have been shrouded over existing games from Codenames to Monopoly, media has likewise inspired unique titles like Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Board Game or Rick and Morty's Total Rickall. Skybound and Mantic's past collaborations have already contributed to the latter variation of the tabletop game and will bring Walking Dead and Invincible fans two additional entries later this year.
The two Kirkman-inspired games will be available for purchase online on both Skybound Entertainment and Mantic Game's official websites.
Source: Skybound Entertainment