Fantasy grounds
Fantasy Grounds, operated by SmiteWorks USA LLC, is a cross-platform virtual tabletop software that enables individual tabletop roleplaying game players and Game Masters to play D&D, Pathfinder, Starfinder, and 30+ other RPGs online, monetizing via freemium downloads through licensed official content modules, a monthly art subscription, and a community content marketplace.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersMelbourne, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Fantasy grounds does
Fantasy Grounds, legally operated by SmiteWorks USA LLC, is a virtual tabletop (VTT) software platform that enables players and Game Masters to run tabletop roleplaying games online. Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Melbourne, USA, the company employs 51-100 people and supports 30+ RPG systems across Windows, MacOS, and Linux through its current product, Fantasy Grounds Unity (launched in 2020). The platform provides combat and rules automation, dynamic line-of-sight and lighting, a 3D dice roller, multi-view rendering (2D and 2.5D), campaign management tools, and XML/Lua extensibility for custom rulesets. Cross-platform multiplayer is enabled through cloud connectivity with automatic NAT traversal.
The company generates revenue through a freemium model that was adopted in 2024. The core VTT software and 15+ free rulesets (including D&D 5E and 2024, Pathfinder 1E/2E, Starfinder 1E/2E, Cosmere RPG, Daggerheart, Fallout 2d20, FATE Core, Numenera, and Star Trek Adventures) are free to download and use. Monetization is built on three paid streams: (1) one-time licenses for official licensed content modules for D&D, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Fallout, Call of Cthulhu, World of Darkness, Star Trek Adventures, Cyberpunk RED, Traveller, and others, sold through an integrated store and on Steam (app 1196310); (2) a monthly Art Subscription providing access to SmiteWorks art assets; and (3) the Fantasy Grounds Forge community marketplace, where third-party creators sell custom modules. The company relies on licensed content partnerships with Wizards of the Coast, Paizo, Bethesda, Chaosium, White Wolf/Paradox, Modiphius, and Mongoose Publishing as a core element of its value proposition.
Distribution is direct-to-consumer via the fantasygrounds.com website and Steam, with no disclosed enterprise customers or B2B channels. The customer base is a horizontal long-tail of individual tabletop RPG players and community content creators, organized around an active Discord server, forums, social channels, and an event partnership with Warhorn (Fantasy Grounds Game Day).
Fantasy grounds firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Fantasy grounds
- Legal name
- SmiteWorks USA LLC
- Website
- https://fantasygrounds.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Fantasy Grounds, operated by SmiteWorks USA LLC, is a cross-platform virtual tabletop software that enables individual tabletop roleplaying game players and Game Masters to play D&D, Pathfinder, Starfinder, and 30+ other RPGs online, monetizing via freemium downloads through licensed official content modules, a monthly art subscription, and a community content marketplace.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Fantasy grounds industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Virtual Tabletop Software
- NAICS
- Amusement Arcades (713120)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Gaming & Virtual World Social Platforms (MPACAJAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Fantasy Contests, Leagues & Tournament Organizers (MPAEAHAF)
Keywords
Where Fantasy grounds is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Melbourne
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Fantasy grounds business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Official Content Sales: Revenue from selling official licensed content modules for supported RPG systems including D&D, Pathfinder, Starfinder, and other publishers' products.
- Art Subscription: Monthly subscription providing access to SmiteWorks art assets including all previously released content and new assets as released.
- Forge Marketplace: Community creators sell content through the Fantasy Grounds Forge. The platform likely takes a marketplace commission on third-party sales.
- Free Platform (Lead Generator): The core software is free to download and use. Players can join games without purchasing anything. This drives adoption and creates a customer base for content purchases.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Core Platform |
| Subscription | Monthly | Art Subscription |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Official Content Modules |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Forge Community Content |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels9 records
Fantasy grounds product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Fantasy Grounds is a virtual tabletop (VTT) software platform that enables players and Game Masters to run tabletop roleplaying game sessions online. The free-to-download platform provides cross-platform play (Windows, MacOS, Linux), built-in dice rolling, combat and game automation, dynamic lighting/line-of-sight, and campaign creation tools. Revenue is generated through official licensed content modules for RPG systems (D&D, Pathfinder, Starfinder, etc.), an optional Art Subscription, and community content sold via the Fantasy Grounds Forge marketplace.
Product overview
Fantasy Grounds VTT is a virtual tabletop software platform with a modular architecture consisting of the core VTT platform (Fantasy Grounds VTT), a community content marketplace (Fantasy Grounds Forge), and a premium art subscription service. The platform offers free rulesets for over 15 RPG systems and sells official content modules for Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Starfinder, Star Trek Adventures, Fallout, Call of Cthulhu, World of Darkness, Savage Worlds, Cyberpunk RED, Traveller, and numerous other RPG titles. Players can host games for free while purchasing official content modules from the Fantasy Grounds store.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Fantasy Grounds Forge: Community developer portal where creators can share content for free or sell modules for use in Fantasy Grounds games
- Fantasy Grounds Unity
- Art Subscription
Products and services
- Fantasy Grounds VTT A virtual tabletop (VTT) software platform enabling players and Game Masters to host and participate in tabletop roleplaying game sessions online. Offers cross-platform play (Windows, MacOS, Linux), cloud connectivity with automatic NAT traversal, 3D dice rolling, combat automation, dynamic line-of-sight and lighting, and campaign creation tools. The core software is free to download.
- Fantasy Grounds Forge A community marketplace where third-party creators can share and sell custom content modules for use in Fantasy Grounds VTT. Supports both free and paid community-created modules, enabling an ecosystem of user-generated RPG content.
- Art Subscription A monthly subscription service providing access to custom SmiteWorks art assets, including all previously released content and new art assets as they are released. Designed for Fantasy Grounds content creators building custom modules.
- D&D Content Modules Official licensed Dungeons & Dragons content for Fantasy Grounds VTT, including Fifth Edition (5E), 2024 rules, and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First and Second Edition modules with full automation support.
- Pathfinder Content Modules Official Pathfinder First Edition and Second Edition Remastered content for Fantasy Grounds VTT, including adventure paths, rulebooks, and supplementary material with full automation.
- Starfinder Content Modules Official Starfinder First Edition and Second Edition content for Fantasy Grounds VTT with full automation support.
- Call of Cthulhu Content
Quantifiable outcome
- Free rulesets included for 15+ RPG systems including D&D 5E, Pathfinder 1E/2E, Starfinder 1E/2E, Cosmere RPG, Daggerheart, Fallout 2d20, FATE Core, Numenera, and Star Trek Adventures
Companies that use Fantasy grounds
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Fantasy grounds technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Fantasy grounds partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Wizards of the CoastcoreLicensed content partnership providing Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons First/Second Edition content for Fantasy Grounds VTT with full automation support.
- Paizo PublishingcoreLicensed partnership for Pathfinder First and Second Edition Remastered content, plus Starfinder First and Second Edition content with official ruleset support.
- Bethesda SoftworkscoreLicensed partnership for Fallout: The Roleplaying Game (Fallout 2d20) content including the Core Rulebook and Starter Set.
- ChaosiumcoreLicensed partnership for Call of Cthulhu Seventh Edition content with ruleset support for Fantasy Grounds VTT.
- White Wolf Entertainment / Paradox InteractivecoreLicensed partnership for World of Darkness Fifth Edition content, including Vampire: The Masquerade Fifth Edition, Werewolf: The Apocalypse Fifth Edition, and Hunter: The Reckoning Fifth Edition.
- Modiphius EntertainmentcoreLicensed partnership for Star Trek Adventures Second Edition content, including quickstart guides and full rulesets.
- Mongoose PublishingcoreLicensed partnership for Traveller Second Edition content with official ruleset support.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Fantasy grounds competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Roll20: Roll20 is the largest virtual tabletop platform for tabletop RPGs and Fantasy Grounds' most direct competitor. Both sell a freemium VTT client, host licensed official modules (D&D 5E, Pathfinder, etc.), and charge per-content. Roll20's larger user base and tighter D&D Beyond tie-up (after WotC's acquisition) make it FG's primary direct rival.
- D&D Beyond: D&D Beyond, owned by Wizards of the Coast (Hasbro) and integrated with Roll20, is a digital toolset and content marketplace for D&D. While narrower (D&D-only) than FG's 30+ system catalog, it is the dominant destination for D&D character sheets, rules lookup, and content purchases, putting it in direct competition for the same GM spending.
- Foundry Virtual Tabletop: Foundry VTT is a one-time-purchase, self-hosted virtual tabletop that competes with Fantasy Grounds in the power-user GM segment. Both offer deep automation, modding via scripting, and access to community-built modules. Foundry has pulled share from FG among technical GMs who prefer self-hosting and a single perpetual license.
- Tabletop Simulator: Tabletop Simulator is a physics-based 3D sandbox used to play board, card, and tabletop RPGs online. It overlaps with Fantasy Grounds for TTRPG play online, particularly for groups wanting a tactile feel and physics-based dice. Distribution on Steam is shared between both products.
Emerging players
- Owlbear Rodeo: Owlbear Rodeo is a lightweight, browser-based VTT that focuses on maps and tokens rather than full rules automation. It competes with Fantasy Grounds for the "quick and easy to set up" use case, capturing GMs who don't need deep automation but want a free or low-cost online table.
- Demiplane: Demiplane is an emerging digital tabletop platform partnering with multiple RPG publishers (D&D, Marvel Multiverse, others) to deliver digital toolkits and content. It competes with FG and Roll20 for publisher-direct relationships and offers a slick, modern UX that could pull share from older VTT clients.
- Astral: Astral is an AI-assisted tabletop RPG platform aimed at making table play easier with AI tools. It represents an emerging category that could both compete with and complement Fantasy Grounds by shifting user expectations around automation, narration, and AI-assisted gameplay.
- Alchemy RPG: Alchemy is a map-making and VTT tool with a focus on beautiful, animated maps and tokens for tabletop RPGs. It targets the same GM audience as Fantasy Grounds but with a focus on visual immersion over rules automation.
Others
- StartPlaying.Games: StartPlaying.Games is a marketplace for finding and joining paid tabletop RPG sessions online. Fantasy Grounds integrates with StartPlaying for game finding; the two are ecosystem partners rather than direct competitors, but StartPlaying's monetization of GMs is adjacent to FG's revenue model.
- Warhorn: Warhorn is an event/session scheduling platform for tabletop RPGs. Fantasy Grounds partners with Warhorn to let players find and join games; Warhorn is an ecosystem enabler rather than a competitor, but it lives in the same hobby-gaming digital workflow.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Fantasy grounds social profiles
Digital presenceFantasy grounds financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Fantasy grounds leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Fantasy grounds subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
Fantasy grounds funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Fantasy grounds M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Fantasy grounds
What does Fantasy grounds do?
Fantasy Grounds is a virtual tabletop (VTT) software platform that enables players and Game Masters to run tabletop roleplaying game sessions online. The free-to-download platform provides cross-platform play (Windows, MacOS, Linux), built-in dice rolling, combat and game automation, dynamic lighting/line-of-sight, and campaign creation tools. Revenue is generated through official licensed content modules for RPG systems (D&D, Pathfinder, Starfinder, etc.), an optional Art Subscription, and community content sold via the Fantasy Grounds Forge marketplace.
Is Fantasy grounds a public or private company?
Fantasy grounds is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Fantasy grounds founded?
Fantasy grounds was founded in 2004. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Fantasy grounds based?
Fantasy grounds is headquartered in Melbourne, United States, in the North America region.
How does Fantasy grounds make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Official Content Sales are the primary driver. The others are art Subscription, forge Marketplace and free Platform (Lead Generator).
Who are Fantasy grounds's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Roll20, D&D Beyond, Foundry Virtual Tabletop and Tabletop Simulator. Emerging players are Owlbear Rodeo, Demiplane, Astral and Alchemy RPG. Others are StartPlaying.Games and Warhorn.
Does Fantasy grounds have an API?
No public API is recorded for Fantasy grounds.
What industry is Fantasy grounds in?
Fantasy grounds's product category is Virtual Tabletop Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAJAG, Gaming & Virtual World Social Platforms, with a secondary code of MPAEAHAF, Fantasy Contests, Leagues & Tournament Organizers. Its NAICS code is 713120 and its SIC code is 7900.