Horror and Survival Key Themes in Attack on Titan TTRPG

This is TTRPG Insider! We’re a newsletter dedicated to interviewing and covering the TTRPG space, whether it is the latest Dungeons and Dragons products, a new TTRPG based on your favorite IP, or an indie project with a new spin.

Want to support us? Make sure you subscribe! Even better, consider sharing this story (or any others) with people at your table or with a friend.

Attack on Titan is a manga, anime, and general IP that has achieved enormous success in both the Japanese and global markets. Originally published by Kodansha in Japanese in 2009 and in English in 2012, the series remained in print for over a decade, selling an estimated 140 million copies of the manga.

The manga’s story, for those unfamiliar, is set in a world where the remaining vestiges of humanity have sealed themselves within a large fortress named Eld to protect themselves from Titans, humanoid giants who attack and eat humans on sight. The manga focuses specifically on Eren Yeager, the protagonist who possesses special abilities that enable him to transform into a Titan. The core story delves into the origins of Yeager's special powers and the Survey Corps’ efforts to combat the Titans and seek answers about their origins.

The project was announced in August by Need Games!, an Italian distributor and the minds behind the JRPG-inspired Fabula Ultima, in partnership with Panini Comics. Panini is best known to the U.S. audience for translating Attack on Titan into Italian and for publishing the Attack on Titan card game.

The game is built around the Year Zero Engine from Free League Publishing (Alien: The RPG, Mutant Year Zero, etc.)

While fans may be eager to roleplay as Eren Yeager or Mikasa Ackerman, fans should brace themselves for something a bit harder.

The TTRPG is kind of a prequel to the manga’s main storyline, Need Games! game designer Matteo Pedroni (and a long-time fan of the manga) told TTRPG Insider. Players will play as various members of the Survey Corps in the five years between the appearances of the Colossal Titan (one of the most enormous titans known to exist, and who was able to break through the walls that humanity used to keep the Titans away). Eren Yeager’s main story begins after the second appearance. It’s a period where the Corps are attempting to recover parts of their city from the Titans, and where they’re leaving the city in hopes of answers.

Fans of Attack on Titan shouldn’t expect to see new lore in the TTRPG, Pedroni noted, and it will not involve any of the major story reveals that the manga explores around what Titans are or why they exist.

The game will focus heavily on the themes of horror and survival, in a way that players might experience it in Alien: The RPG, Pedroni said. While combat is always an option, engaging in it without proper preparation can lead to fatal consequences. It’s also highly likely that players will die during play. Thankfully, players will be able to swap to other characters with ease if this happens.

The Titans themselves aren’t being treated as your typical enemies that you would face in a traditional TTRPG, Pedroni emphasized. While most games would give your enemies HP blocks and stats, Pedroni noted that Titans are treated more like “forces of nature” that are best avoided rather than fought head-on.

Titans are “a big threat and will require players to follow certain steps to kill them, else the creature will just regenerate,” Pedroni emphasized.

That threat will provide the context needed to make informed decisions about the story. Will the players decide to flee when a Titan slaughters half of their squad, or will they sacrifice themselves to try and stop the Titan before it pursues the survivors? Perhaps the players will have to decide whether to listen to their superior and sacrifice themselves for his safety, or risk being called traitors due to a fear of death. Survey Corps members rarely had a long-lasting career, but the risk of death offers unique opportunities for storytelling.

There will be “specific mechanics for that spotlight,” Pedroni noted, so that players could see their character shine in that last moment before their demise.

How to Adapt a Popular Manga to the Table

There’s a unique challenge that comes with adapting a popular manga and anime like Attack on Titan into a TTRPG format. Not only must you capture the unique story of the setting, but you must also do so while communicating across different cultures and language barriers.

The Need Games and Panini Comics team have been working closely with Konansha, which often requires them to send rules and content overseas for their approval. “We’re talking to Konansha weekly for feedback and input, because they really care about Attack on Titan and want every detail in the book to be accurate,” Pedroni noted. The desire for detail has slowed down the design process due to constant meetings and the need for everything to be approved by a team on the other side of the world. But Pedroni, a long-time fan of the anime, remains committed to providing the best possible experience for Attack on Titan fans that he can.

The goal is to publish the game sometime in 2026, although Pedroni was unable to commit to set dates. He hopes to have copies available for sale by GenCon 2026, but the state of the economy could create more than a few bumps along the way.

The Attack on Titan TTRPG will be published without running a crowdfunding campaign, a trend that is becoming increasingly rare for new games in the TTRPG industry. “I see crowdfunding as an essential marketing asset for role-playing games,” Pedroni said. “It's beneficial when you have to create a community. But Attack on Titan is one of the greatest works of our time. We know that the Attack on Titan community will respond to the release of the book.”

Thanks to Matteo Pedroni and the Need Games! team for talking to TTRPG Insider. Stay tuned for more news as the game releases.

What are your thoughts? Send any scoops, tips or press releases to [email protected].