At Gen Con, Green Ronin Publishing announced it had signed a licensing agreement with James S.A. Corey to adapt The Expanse series of novels into a roleplaying game.

The Expanse is an operatic space drama series written by the team of Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck under the pen name James S. A. Corey. The first novel in the series, Leviathan Wakes, was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2012; and the overall series was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Series in 2017.

“The Expanse began as a gaming concept nearly two decades ago, and was played as a home brewed RPG for years before becoming a book series,” said Ty Franck. “To have Green Ronin taking the universe of The Expanse back to its roots is very exciting. I’ve loved their game adaptations of other literary works, and I couldn’t be happier to be partnering with them on this project.”

“I came to the story first as a RPG, and clearly I had a great time with it,” said Daniel Abraham. “I’m delighted to have other gamers get the chance to make their own stories in this setting.”

Green Ronin will run a crowdfunding campaign for the RPG next year, with plans to publish the game in August 2018. The game will use Green Ronin’s Adventure Game Engine, which powers Fantasy AGE, Modern AGE and the Blue Rose RPGs.

The series was also adapted into a popular TV series by Syfy that premiered in December 2015. The second season was released on home video this summer (see “DVD Round-Up: 'Kong: Skull Island,' 'Free Fire,' 'Valerian,' 'Resident Evil,' 'Adventure Time,' & 'The Expanse'”). The third season will premiere in early 2018.

WizKids plans to release a board game adaptation of The Expanse in October (see “WizKids Heads for 'The Expanse'”).