[Greysword]

Hi everyone,

Since this is the official and well connected forum to the CGL brass, I was wondering if anyone has heard any rumors about starting development on the next edition?

If there is nothing in the works, can I suggest that they start getting the next version into production? 

It takes years to properly create and roll-out a new iteration of any media, and given the shortfalls of Sixth out of the gate, I'm hoping Seventh edition will be more polished, well thought out and tested, and with the best editing CGL has ever released. 

I know they can do it, and if production costs are an issue, I'm happy to back a kickstarter.

I think they need to start with some solid feedback from the community on what worked in each edition (1st-6th), what everyone is hoping to smooth out, suggested rules to accomplish this, and then they need to hire a great team of developers to put this thing together. 

It needs to be (and really could be) a direct competitor to D&D!

Any thoughts?

[FastJack]

Mod Warning

This is all speculation. As far as anyone knows, there are NO plans for a 7E, especially since 6E came out in 2019 and CGL has not made any moves to show they are even thinking about it, what with still releasing 6E rulebooks, sourcebooks, and campaign books. In fact, even the German side is getting ready to release their Sixth World Core Rulebook, Berlin Edition, set in similar format as Seattle Edition.

Any discussion on this topic will be closely monitored.

[Michael Chandra]

Anyone who might know, would not be authorised to say. I am not kidding there, they take the NDA serious.

Also, honestly I still don't consider SR6 having more shortfalls than SR5 at the start, and it at least has errata and an updated CRB PDF. In SR5, Riggers were unplayable without a lengthy discussion with your GM on how to interpret some rules. That said, given the venom some people spouted back then, plus the NDA violations that happened... All because a few people were upset about SR6's rule changes, so they were deliberately sabotaging the company in the hopes that Catalyst would lose the rights and somehow magically another company would want to risk rebuilding the franchise.

Sure, I'd love more playtesting than SR6 had, even though it had a significant amount, some of the rule changes weren't as tested as could be. But the intensive testing some products have, Shadowrun simply is too small for. And the whole NDA violations may have very well have soured them on the idea of larger test groups.

Mod Warning

This is all speculation. As far as anyone knows, there are NO plans for a 7E, especially since 6E came out in 2019 and CGL has not made any moves to show they are even thinking about it, what with still releasing 6E rulebooks, sourcebooks, and campaign books. In fact, even the German side is getting ready to release their Sixth World Core Rulebook, Berlin Edition, set in similar format as Seattle Edition.

Any discussion on this topic will be closely monitored.

Just a mild note, I don't think that's the German side releasing Berlin Edition? It's more for the English, perhaps? To translate from the German Discord:

"The content for the Berlin Edition was written by Andreas 'AAS' Schroth, the new German editor-in-chief for Shadowrun at Pegasus. If I remember a statement in an interview or text, some things from the Berlin 2080 book will be taken up again or presented in a condensed form. However, I wouldn't say that Pegasus content is being sold by CGL, but only that the same author has been hired, who writes about the same topic in a different language and form."

[FastJack]

Just a mild note, I don't think that's the German side releasing Berlin Edition? It's more for the English, perhaps? To translate from the German Discord:

"The content for the Berlin Edition was written by Andreas 'AAS' Schroth, the new German editor-in-chief for Shadowrun at Pegasus. If I remember a statement in an interview or text, some things from the Berlin 2080 book will be taken up again or presented in a condensed form. However, I wouldn't say that Pegasus content is being sold by CGL, but only that the same author has been hired, who writes about the same topic in a different language and form."

I believe you are correct, sir! My mistake, I follow both Catalyst and Pegasus on the `book, and when it came across by feed, I had thought it was Pegasus publishing.

[Typhus]

Also, isn't there one more book scheduled for 6e still?  Like a wilderness/critter type book?  Can't recall the name, but I don't think the usual subjects have even been covered for 6e yet.

At this point, whatever happens and when, I think rather than new editions, I think alternate takes on the setting would be more interesting.  Sort of like Anarchy presents a narrative version of the setting, try some other takes on SR as one-offs, see what catches on.  Let the folks connected to the writing side stretch their legs a bit. 

[FastJack]

Yes, there is... or was. Again it was unofficial on the Pegasus site (and I'm having trouble finding the news article now).

Edit: Found it LINK

From our friends in Germany (Pegasus Spiel) comes their outlook for 2023-2024

Nothing is official until Catalyst announces it, but since they are working on the translations, it gives us a chance to see what's in the pipeline.

A prime example is the recently released Whisper Nets, that on their page has a Summer 2023 release (this could be just the translation delay).

Some other books discussed for 2023:

• Bodyshop 2082 (cyberware sourcebook/setting)
• Bloody Beginnings (introductory adventures)
• Astral Ways (Meta level setting/sourcebook)

And books for 2024 include:

• Wild Life (critter sourcebook)
• Fear the Dark (final Dis plotline/campaign book)

[Greysword]

Great, thanks everyone for chiming in!

As I mentioned in my original post, putting something like this together takes years, and since the core books are now on the table, my thought was we now have (pretty much) a complete game, and the next batch to come will be support material and rule tweaks (like Street Lethal, Kill Code, and Forbidden Arcana did) and releasing more GM-centric books (like more critters, adventures, etc).

This just leads to developers thinking on how they can improve on what was done and writing that up in a way that leads to a rules refresh.

Honestly, I would LOVE CGL (whomever it is in the company) to focus on expanding the lore in a way that makes it more accessible for new (and veteran) players.  While the novels are great, something like a digital newszine that highlighted key events.  Something that spoke about the current Sixth World news and had historical articles that summarized some of the past events of note.  Of course, it could (should) have some game elements sprinkled in.

I would also like to see more of the short form digital books, but I don't really have any standing to request any of this.

Thanks again for the replies!

[Xenon]

I think they need to start with some solid feedback from the community on what worked in each edition (1st-6th), what everyone is hoping to smooth out, suggested rules to accomplish this, and then they need to hire a great team of developers to put this thing together. 

Difficult to please everyone.

Some people wanted to continue in the direction SR5 was going (more situational modifiers, bigger dice pools, artificially limit nummer of hits, more game mechanics, more systems mastery)

Others wanted to dial back. Less situational modifiers and more manageable dice pools. More focus on style and freedom of choice. Initative that didn't require an app to keep track of. Skills that were all equally broad and useful. Matrix rules that people understood and could actually use without out sourcing hacking to a NPC or hand wave most of the rules. Less focus on game mechanics and calculations that you had to spend time and effort to redo for every single attack. Role Playing over Rule Playing.

[Greysword]

Good point.  I thought CGL was trying to meet both of these with Anarchy, or was that too much of a "rules lite" version?

I guess if CGL made 5e print on demand (through DriveThru or someone), players could have the best of both worlds?

[Michael Chandra]

Random sidenote: The freshly-released Shoot Straight really comes across as a nice intro book for players. It doesn't go into detailed lore, but it sure covers the setting well, as well as archetypes and character etiquette. Random examples are advice on drone options for riggers, and a section on when you get in trouble with the law (including what if you go to jail).

Lorewise, I'd say the Streetpedia already was nice. Honestly I don't need a full explanation of the lore events of the past decades, we have the occasional lore update book between editions as well as the Streetpedia. If we throw out more than that, you're creating the impression that new players HAVE to know the detailed lore and that creates a barrier that shouldn't be there.


As for SR7, I'm looking at Missions myself. They seem to like starting a new edition as the old season wraps up, either in its last year or on the first year of a new season. So if I were a gambling man, I'd place bets on after the next season completes. (Reason: It means you have a nice fresh intro for new players to join in.)

[MercilessMing]

My guess is right now they're in the "it's too soon to tell if a 7th edition is worth making" phase of development.

[adambeyoncelowe]

This is all wild speculation, so take it with a punch of salt! If I had to guess when an SR7 would land, there are a few factors to consider: average shelf life of an edition, important milestones and publication schedules.

2024 is about ripe for a 35th Anniversary Edition that cleans up the CRB, but I suspect that wouldn't happen with the new Berlin CRB landing imminently. (Why do two core books within a year of each other?) Then again, I think there was a reprint of the SR5 CRB near the end of that edition, so that's not guaranteed.

The 40th anniversary would be 2029, which conversely seems too long for an edition cycle. It'd mean 10 years of SR6W. But split the difference and you might be looking at maybe 2026-7?

As SR4 ran for 8 years (if we include SR4A) and SR5 ran for 6 years but potentially ended a little earlier so SR6W could tie in with the 30th anniversary, then a 7-8 year run of SR6W seems plausible.

Now, if they did a second edition of Anarchy, I'd be jumping for joy. That game is probably my favourite iteration of the rules, even if I've had to patch it a little to work. And it just doesn't need as much work to make things gel as the core rules.

But I know I'm definitely living in hope there!

[Ajax]

Here’s a quick listing of release dates:

1989 (First Edition)
1992 (Second Edition)
1998 (Third Edition)
2005 (Fourth Edition)
2009 (SR4 20th Anniversary)
2013 (Fifth Edition)
2019 (Sixth Edition)

If we don’t count the first to second edition switch and we count SR4 and SR4A as the same edition, we’re looking at 7 years per edition on average. That would place the most likely release for SR7 in 2026.   
     
However, CGL just sunk a fair bit of resources into the “Seattle Edition” and “Berlin Edition” of the SR6 rulebook and the overall pacing of releases for SR6 seems a bit slower than SR4 or SR5… So I think this edition might have a longer run than average.

It’s inevitable at a seventh edition will be released eventually, but I wouldn’t expect it to happen soon. A release in 2029 for the 40th Anniversary seems a bit far out, but I feel like that’s more plausible than anything sooner.

(But, well… Okay, you didn’t hear this from me, chummer. But I know a guy, name of… uh… “Johnson,” yeah. Johnson. That’s it. He’s looking for a crew to extract some paydata from a publishing company. Should be a milk run.)

[Beta]

From a practical point of view:

- the core supplements are all published, but in 5e there were second books for hacking, fighting, and magic.  I don't know how those sold compared to the initial books, but my understanding is that in general those core supplements are the next best selling thing after the core rule book

- Scotohobia does not end the metaplot launched in Cutting Black, but it seems like the beginning of the end. That arc looking like it is wrapping up could signal time to be working on a new edition?

- Further, one possible outcome from what is happening in Scotohobia would be substantial changes to the manasphere, which could set the stage for an edition with weaker  magic, but would be difficult to handle late in the edition.