Hero Games

What Hero Games does

Hero Games is a privately held tabletop roleplaying game publisher operating as a brand under DOJ, Inc., a California corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California, with approximately 5 employees. The company publishes the HERO System, a generic, multi-genre tabletop RPG currently in its 6th Edition and recognized by InQuest Magazine as "Best Roleplaying Game of All Time." Its flagship intellectual property is Champions, a superhero setting, alongside genre lines for fantasy (Fantasy Hero), science fiction (Star Hero), pulp adventure (Pulp Hero), gritty superheroes (Dark Champions), the Old West (Western Hero), and Monster Hunter International, supported by a catalog of over 70 books.

Underlying technology consists of a rules engine built around point-build character construction keyed to player-defined "special effects," enabling any character concept to be mechanically represented while preserving game balance. Surrounding the rule system, Hero Games develops companion software: HERO Designer for character sheet creation and export, HERO Combat Manager for combat encounter simulation (version 1.16 as of March 2025), and HERO System Mobile (version 2.4 in beta as a ground-up rebuild).

The business model is a mix of physical print and digital PDF sales through the direct online store at herogames.com (and herogamesbookshop.com for physical books), with print-on-demand availability on DriveThruRPG and Amazon, plus community-tier monetization through Patreon and gift card sales. The company serves a long-tail consumer base of tabletop RPG enthusiasts and game masters seeking a single flexible rules system applicable across genres; its primary customer segments are superhero roleplaying enthusiasts (Champions) and generic-system users running multi-genre campaigns. Marketing is community-led across forums, Discord, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and an email newsletter, with strong direct customer engagement evidenced by ~65k forum members.

Name

Hero Games

Legal name

DOJ, Inc.

Website

https://herogames.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hero Games, operating as DOJ, Inc., publishes the HERO System, a multi-genre tabletop roleplaying game (currently 6th Edition) best known for its Champions superhero line, selling PDFs, print books, and companion software to tabletop RPG enthusiasts and game masters globally through its own store and DriveThruRPG.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tabletop Roleplaying Games

NAICS

Hobby, Toy, and Game Retailers (45912), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Retail-Hobby, Toy & Game Shops (5945)

akta.pro primary industry

Hobby Games & Miniatures Retail (Tabletop RPGs, Wargaming) (CRALAFAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Miniatures Games & Tabletop Skirmish Games Retail (CRALALAH)

Keywords

• Tabletop roleplaying games
• Generic RPG systems
• Tabletop game publishing
• RPG software tools
• Adventure game books

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Hero Games publishes the HERO System, a generic tabletop roleplaying game engine, together with a portfolio of genre-specific game lines, supplements, and sourcebooks built on that engine. In addition to print publications, the company sells companion software tools (HERO Designer, HERO Combat Manager, and HERO System Mobile) that support character creation, combat adjudication, and in-play reference for players and game masters.

Product overview

Hero Games, operated by DOJ Inc., publishes the HERO System, an award-winning generic roleplaying game system (voted Best Roleplaying Game of All Time by InQuest Magazine) currently in its 6th Edition. The product portfolio includes the core HERO System rules framework, supporting software tools (HERO Designer for character creation, HERO Combat Manager for combat simulation, and HERO System Mobile companion app), and multiple genre-specific product lines including Champions (superhero), Fantasy Hero (fantasy), Dark Champions (gritty superhero), Star Hero (science fiction), Pulp Hero, Monster Hunter International, and Western Hero. Products are distributed as both physical print books and digital PDFs through the company's store, DriveThruRPG, and Amazon. Recent releases include the Champions Classics adventure series (#17-19), SID Bulletin villain supplements, and Wondrous Treasures Collection for Fantasy Hero.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HERO System: The award-winning roleplaying game system published by Hero Games, voted Best Roleplaying Game of All Time by InQuest Magazine.
• Champions
• Fantasy Hero
• Star Hero
• HERO Designer
• HERO Combat Manager

Products and services

• HERO System Generic, point-buy tabletop roleplaying game rules engine used as the foundation for multiple genre-specific game lines; for tabletop RPG players and game masters.
• Champions Superhero-themed tabletop RPG line built on the HERO System; for players and game masters running superhero campaigns.
• Fantasy Hero Fantasy-genre tabletop RPG line built on the HERO System; for players and game masters running traditional fantasy campaigns.
• Star Hero Science fiction tabletop RPG line built on the HERO System; for players and game masters running space-opera or sci-fi campaigns.
• Dark Champions Darker, grittier superhero-themed RPG line built on the HERO System; for players and game masters running urban or noir-superhero campaigns.
• Pulp Hero Pulp-adventure tabletop RPG line built on the HERO System; for players and game masters running 1930s pulp-style action campaigns.
• Western Hero Old West-themed tabletop RPG line built on the HERO System; for players and game masters running Western-era campaigns.
• Monster Hunter International Monster-hunting tabletop RPG line built on the HERO System; for players and game masters running modern-day monster-hunting campaigns.
• HERO Designer Standalone software tool for designing HERO System characters, builds, and game rules data; for HERO System players and game masters.
• HERO Combat Manager Standalone software tool for tracking and adjudicating HERO System combats; for HERO System players and game masters running tactical encounters.
• HERO System Mobile Mobile reference application providing HERO System rules, charts, and lookups at the table; for HERO System players and game masters using smartphones or tablets during play.
• Champions Classics series Reissue book series collecting classic Champions-era HERO System material in updated formats; for HERO System enthusiasts and collectors.
• SID Bulletin Recurring HERO System bulletin publication providing updates, optional rules, and supplementary material; for HERO System subscribers and supporters.
• Wondrous Treasures Collection Compiled HERO System supplement collecting treasure, equipment, and gear rules material; for game masters and players using the HERO System.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pinnacle Entertainment Group: Publisher of Savage Worlds, another genre-flexible tabletop RPG system with a similar small-publisher footprint and multi-genre support model analogous to the HERO System.
• Steve Jackson Games: Publisher of GURPS (Generic Universal RolePlaying System), the closest direct competitor to the HERO System as both are generic, point-build tabletop RPG systems designed to support any genre with one ruleset.
• Goodman Games: Independent tabletop RPG publisher known for Dungeon Crawl Classics and classic D&D retroclones; comparable as a small-staff hobbyist publisher monetizing both new content and legacy/print-on-demand catalog.
• Green Ronin Publishing: Independent tabletop RPG publisher of Mutants & Masterminds (a superhero RPG directly competing with Champions) and Fantasy AGE, making it one of the closest genre-and-format peers to Hero Games.
• Chaosium: Independent tabletop RPG publisher of Call of Cthulhu and RuneQuest, comparable to Hero Games in being a long-running small-staff publisher of a flagship rules system with a dedicated community.

Emerging players

• Atlas Games: Independent tabletop RPG and card game publisher (Unknown Armies, Feng Shui, Once Upon a Time); comparable as a small publisher of niche RPG systems relying on community-driven marketing and direct-to-consumer sales.
• Free League Publishing: Swedish tabletop RPG publisher of Year Zero Engine games (Mutant, Alien, Vaesen); comparable as an independent publisher building a multi-genre flagship system with strong community and licensed IP tie-ins.

Broad incumbents

• Paizo: Publisher of Pathfinder and Starfinder, a much larger but similarly positioned tabletop RPG publisher; relevant for category economics, organized play dynamics, and digital toolchain benchmarks (Pathfinder 2 compatible with Hero Lab-like tools).
• Fantasy Flight Games: Major hobby games publisher with deep tabletop RPG and board game catalogs (Star Wars RPG, Arkham Horror, Legend of the Five Rings); comparable as a multi-line tabletop publisher serving hobby retail.
• Wizards of the Coast: Publisher of Dungeons & Dragons, the dominant tabletop RPG and the primary market context for any niche RPG publisher; relevant for category sizing, distribution dynamics, and competitive pressure on hobbyists.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubediscord.gg/HcUJvJH
• Facebookfacebook.com/HeroSystemGames
• Instagraminstagram.com/hero_system_games
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hero-games

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hero Games