The State of Games in the Cosmere—Gen Con 2026

Team Dragonsteel had a great time meeting you at Gen Con early this month. Neither rain nor tornado warnings could kill the fun we all had, and with our friends at Brotherwise bringing games and news galore, it was a week to remember.

Johnny and Jillian from Brotherwise showed off the best games of the Cosmere at the convention’s opening ceremonies, and a crowded panel on Saturday gave us a look at what is coming next. In their event room, we saw constant games of Shards of Creation, demos of the Cosmere RPG, and tables covered with Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game.

The State of Games in the Cosmere

We packed into the Indiana Convention Center for a panel all about what games are coming to the Cosmere next. Fun fact: We had nearly two hundred registered attendees, but the room we were given could only fit about sixty. So thanks for sitting close in a full room and being so patient while we figured it all out. And double thanks to the fans excited enough to stand on the sides of the room.

Brotherwise teamed up with John D. Clair and Dan Wells to give us a preview of the next year of games. Mistborn: The Deckbuilding Game is getting a shuffle-in expansion and expanded co-op mode with the Well of Ascension. That expansion includes a player card for Elend and the Siege of Luthadel, a new co-op mode that tasks you with defending the city gates from hordes of enemies.

The Cosmere RPG’s Mistborn books are on their way! Backers should get their books in the next few months, ahead of the full retail launch coming in November. The handbook will introduce player options for Metalborn character paths, with Allomancy, Feruchemy, and even Hemalurgy! With both eras of Mistborn, there are also options for Twinborn characters. The game also features expanded non-magical character paths like hazekillers and gunslingers. For the most ambitious out there, the handbook has a few guidelines on making worldhopping characters, with advice on how to blend powers from Mistborn and the Stormlight Archive.

The world guide includes never-before-seen places like the Conrad Delta, a swampy bayou with riverboat gamblers, koloss-blooded clans, and treasure-filled ruins sinking under the surface. Enemy stat blocks for Steel Inquisitors, assassins, rival Mistborn, and more will help populate combat encounters with fearsome foes.

The star of the show (according to Johnny O’Neal) is Mistborn Legacy, a campaign sourcebook that guides players and a GM through an adventure that spans the history of Mistborn’s world. Your actions and character origins in the Final Empire will affect your game’s world as you play through the second half of the adventure. Brotherwise showed off a brain-boggling behind-the-scenes flowchart that illustrated just how many decisions might have consequences for the second half of the campaign.

Brotherwise’s final reveal was Tidebreakers, the next adventure for the Stormlight campaign setting. This one serves as a high-level follow-up to 2025’s Stonewalkers, and starts off in the Reshi Isles. Dan Wells was very eager to show this off, and we are so excited to hear more about it at Dragonsteel Nexus this year.

Stormlight: The War for Roshar

The most anticipated game of the year is Stormlight: War for Roshar. The massive board game puts players in command of the biggest conflict in the Stormlight Archive, as Odium’s and Honor’s armies clash for the fate of the world. Dan Wells and his son Noah, some of Team Dragonsteel’s biggest board gamers, got VIP seats at Gen Con to play an exclusive demo.

Spoiler note: This game, by its nature, includes spoilers for The Stormlight Archive. If you aren't caught up with the series, you have been warned.

This is an asymmetrical war game where players move troops across a map of Roshar and engage in warfare and diplomacy to earn victory points. As the conflict progresses, Odium employs fearsome Fused and Honor’s troops swear Radiant oaths, unlocking new powers like flight or bonus durability. Every turn, highstorms and the Everstorm draw closer, and when they finally strike, Honor’s or Odium’s forces are reinvigorated, resources and Stormlight are replenished, and the fight is renewed.

During the demo, Dan controlled Odium’s forces, led by Leshwi and Taravangian, and Noah took command of Honor’s forces, led by Kaladin and Dalinar. Chris O’Neal, cofounder of Brotherwise Games, introduced them to the concepts and play pattern. The early setup quickly gave way to conflict, and the first battles broke out in the Frostlands. As Leshwi and Kaladin struggled to control Oathgates, Dalinar and Taravangian mustered troops and allies elsewhere.

Taravangian’s armies amassed across Roshar, with Dan’s resource accumulation quickly creating a huge presence. As Kaladin leveled up, he gained the ability to fly and lead Radiant troops out of Urithiru. With that power available, Noah fought hard against Odium in the Frostlands, the Shattered Plains, and throughout Alethkar. Noah’s coalition couldn’t stand against Dan’s cunning, though, and as more nations fell to Odium’s influence, Dan’s victory drew nearer.

Highstorms reinvigorated Noah’s board, and the last stand at Alethkar earned him some valuable victory points, but Dan’s diplomatic master plan was revealed as the ashes of the battle floated through the air: The Oathgates and their precious victory points were under Odium’s control, bringing his point total across the threshold to the game’s conclusion.

The War for Roshar crowdfunding campaign will start in October this year. You can follow the campaign through this link to the Brotherwise page.

That’s it for the current news roundup! Mistborn RPG rewards are coming to backers soon and to retail stores in November, and you can keep an eye on Brotherwise in October for the Stormlight: War for Roshar crowdfunding campaign. Brotherwise will have even more news at Nexus this year, and we’ll keep you up to date right here on The Cognitive Realm.