Okay, let's be real for a sec. Last year was insane for us RPG nerds. Cyberpunk 2077 pulled off the comeback of the century with Phantom Liberty and Patch 2.0, basically going from meme to masterpiece overnight. Meanwhile, Baldur’s Gate 3 waltzed in, swept the Game Awards, and reminded everyone why turn-based, dice-rolling glory will never die. Seriously fantastic stuff. But you wanna know what’s still missing? What’s gnawing at my soul like a troll with the munchies? A world where a chrome-plated street samurai can trade blows with a fireball-chucking elf mage, while an actual, honest-to-goodness dragon runs the mega-corp trying to gentrify their squat! Folks, it’s high time – no, it’s overdue – for a brand-spanking-new Shadowrun game. Wake up, game devs! The Sixth World is calling, and it sounds like buzzing cyberware mixed with ancient incantations.
Yeah, that's the vibe. Magic meets tech, chaos meets style. Pure, uncut Shadowrun.
We've Seen the Future, Now Give Us the Weird Future
Look, I love Night City. Decking out V with sandy implants and blasting through Arasaka Tower? Chef's kiss. But Cyberpunk 2077, Deus Ex, Blade Runner... they all give us that gritty, high-tech dystopia we crave. Hyper-capitalism? Check. Augmented humans? Check. Society teetering on collapse? Double-check. Shadowrun has all that too, obviously. But then it cranks the dial to eleven and snaps it off. Here, the Corpos aren't just stealing your data; they're literally harvesting souls for some eldritch profit scheme. Oh, and those "Lizard People" conspiracy theorists? They're kinda right, except the lizards are actual, ancient, hyper-intelligent dragons running the world's biggest megacorps. Call one a lizard to its face? Yeah, don't. Your future well-being might get... abbreviated. It’s cyberpunk with a glorious, chaotic fantasy injection.
Forget Edgerunners, We Need Shadowrunners (and They Can Do Anything)
Just like V or David Martinez are Edgerunners living on the edge, Shadowrun has its own brand of morally grey operators: Shadowrunners. Hired guns (or mages, or hackers, or trolls) for jobs too dirty, too secret, or too illegal for anyone else. Corporate espionage? Standard Tuesday. Grand theft? Payday. Wetwork? Depends on the nuyen offered. But here’s where it gets really spicy compared to just picking cyberware loadouts in Night City. Shadowrun’s character building is pure, unadulterated freedom, much closer to the glorious chaos of Baldur’s Gate 3 and its D&D roots. You want a street samurai who can also sling healing spells? Go for it! A mage who suddenly decides a shotgun is the perfect backup when mana runs low? Absolutely encouraged! A decker (that's a hacker, choom) who can also talk their way out of trouble and throw a mean punch? The system loves that. The possibilities for utterly broken, wonderfully thematic, or just plain silly builds are endless.
| Feature | Cyberpunk 2077 | Baldur's Gate 3 | Shadowrun (Potential New Game) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Genre | Pure Cyberpunk | High Fantasy | Cyberpunk + Fantasy |
| Character Freedom | Tech/Combat Focus | Class-Based (D&D) | Truly Fluid Mix & Match |
| Magic System | None | Spells & Slots | Spells, Spirits, Totems |
| Hacking | Quickhacks | Limited (Illithid?) | Deep Matrix Diving |
| Unique Flavor | Gritty Dystopia | Epic Adventure | Corporate Espionage + Magic |
The Trilogy Was Gold, But It's Been a Decade! Seriously?
Let’s pour one out for Harebrained Schemes. Between 2013 and 2015, they blessed us with three fantastic Kickstarter gems: Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun: Dragonfall (Director's Cut is chef's kiss), and Shadowrun: Hong Kong. They proved the concept worked brilliantly in a video game format. Turn-based tactical combat? Check. Deep, branching stories full of corporate skullduggery, existential dread in a transhumanist world, and that unique Shadowrun blend of tech and mysticism? Double-check. Remember Cyberpunk 2077's Pacifica? A lawless ruin? In Shadowrun, places like that aren't just full of gangs and despair; they're also likely dripping with toxic spirits, haunted by mana storms, or home to ghoul colonies. The atmosphere is thick. But... 2015? That was ten years ago! A whole decade! We've had multiple Witcher spinoffs, two Baldur's Gates, and Cyberpunk's redemption arc since then. Shadowrun fans are parched!
My mage trying to explain why carrying a shotgun is 'tactically sound' while the street samurai facepalms. Classic runner team dynamics.
Why RIGHT NOW is the Perfect Storm for Shadowrun
-
Cyberpunk is HOT: Edgerunners exploded. Blade Runner 2049 is a modern classic. Audiences crave neon-drenched dystopias. Shadowrun delivers that, but then adds orcs, elves, dragons, and magic! It’s cyberpunk with a fantasy expansion pack, offering fresh takes on both genres.
-
Turn-Based is BACK, Baby! BG3 didn't just succeed; it dominated. It proved there's a massive, hungry audience for deep, tactical, turn-based RPGs with complex characters and stories – exactly what Shadowrun excels at. The market has spoken: we love this stuff!
-
The Larian Blueprint: BG3's early access was a masterclass in community engagement. A new Shadowrun game could follow that model perfectly. Let players test the Matrix, tweak their rigger drones, and argue about spell balance for years before launch! Build that hype and refine the game with the fans.
-
Endless Potential: The Sixth World is a lore ocean. The tabletop game is on its sixth edition! There are decades of stories, locations (Seattle under martial law? The jungles of Amazonia? Tir Tairngire, the elven nation?), and metaplots just begging to be explored. The gameplay mix of skills, cyberware, magic, and tech offers near-infinite build experimentation.
So, to any studio with the guts, vision, and maybe a dash of madness: PICK UP THE SHADOWRUN IP! The stars are aligned. The players are ready. We need that glorious, chaotic blend of chrome and spellbooks, of corporate boardrooms and astral planes. Give us a new generation of Shadowrunners. My cyberarm is twitching with anticipation, and my spellbook is gathering dust. Make it happen! 2025 demands it.
A dragon CEO contemplating the quarterly soul harvest projections. Just another Tuesday in the Sixth World.