Restoration Games and Games Workshop announced a multi-year licensing deal on Thursday, November 5, 2026, and the first release is Devastation in the Dread World, a reimagining of Chaos in the Old World with original designer Eric Lang on the design team and a crowdfunding campaign planned for early 2027.
Key facts
| Game | Devastation in the Dread World |
| Publisher | Restoration Games, under licence from Games Workshop |
| Based on | Chaos in the Old World, designed by Eric Lang |
| Designer | Eric Lang joins the Restoration Games design team |
| Setting | Gravemarch, a new setting in Games Workshop’s Talisman Realm |
| Crowdfunding | Early 2027, platform and prices not yet announced, retail release to follow |
| Announcement | Restoration Games press release |
What is Devastation in the Dread World?
It is a Talisman Realm reimagining of Chaos in the Old World, the Eric Lang strategy game first released by Fantasy Flight Games in 2009, in which rival powers fight to corrupt and devastate the world. Restoration says the new version keeps the area control, asymmetric factions and blood-soaked politics of the original, with modern refinements such as scenario-based play in place of random events.
Lang has joined the Restoration design team for the project. In the announcement, he called Chaos in the Old World his most requested reprint, and said Restoration is the perfect match to bring the game into 2026. Restoration’s recent track record includes The Lord of the Rings: The King’s Gambit, which closed at $2.58 million on Kickstarter in October.
When does it come to crowdfunding?
Restoration says Devastation in the Dread World heads to crowdfunding early next year, meaning early 2027, followed by a retail release. The company has not named a crowdfunding platform, an exact date, or pledge prices yet.
Fans can sign up on Restoration’s notification page for an alert when the campaign launches. Our crowdfunding tracker follows the board game campaigns worth watching each week.
What other games are in the Games Workshop deal?
Two more restorations are tentatively scheduled to debut in 2028, and the agreement also leaves room for additional games in Gravemarch or other new settings in the Talisman Realm.
| New title | Restores | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Devastation in the Dread World | Chaos in the Old World | Crowdfunding early 2027, retail release to follow |
| Dungeons of Gravemarch: The Card Game | Space Hulk: Death Angel – The Card Game | Tentatively scheduled for 2028 |
| Warrior Knights | The 1985 classic, itself redone in 2006 | Tentatively scheduled for 2028 |
What is Gravemarch?
Gravemarch is an original high fantasy setting that Restoration Games is developing exclusively for the Talisman Realm, Games Workshop’s new, expanded brand built around the world of Talisman. Restoration describes it as a place teeming with malevolent factions, vying for control over the few pockets of humanity that remain, and all three announced games are set there.
The deal also puts Restoration alongside the wider Games Workshop catalogue it now touches, which we track on our Games Workshop Price Increase Tracker.
Source: Restoration Games, press release: Restoration Games Partners with Games Workshop to Bring Back Three Classic Games. Also covered by BoardGameWire.
Image: Restoration Games.
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