Thirteen million dollars. Thatās what fans threw at a tabletop game based on a book series about a guy in his underwear and a cat with a tiara, and itās the reason Renegade Game Studios now has a fulfillment problem worth six to eight weeks of shipping.
The official Dungeon Crawler Carl Roleplaying Game hits retail in November 2026. Thatās the franchiseās next major release, and itās the one that finally lets you walk into the World Dungeon yourself instead of watching Carl do it.
The backers go first, but not all at once
Renegade said physical crowdfunding fulfillment starts in October 2026. The catch is volume. There are so many orders that the studio expects the process to stretch roughly six to eight weeks instead of everyone tearing open a box on the same afternoon.
The campaign had originally aimed for October delivery, with Renegade hoping backers would be rolling dice by Thanksgiving. Digital copies of the RPG materials have already started going out to eligible backers ahead of the physical wave.
If you werenāt a backer, the wait isnāt much longer. Renegade lists the roleplaying game and its related products for a November 2026 retail release, and the company has specified late November for the wider launch. The Core Rulebook and Starter Set are up for preorder now, along with miniatures, dice, a GM screen and other accessories.
You can be Carl, or you can be nobody
The system is skill-based and built to recreate the deadly televised dungeon from the books. Play as Carl, Princess Donut, Florin or Prepotente, or build an original crawler from dozens of races, classes, backgrounds and skills.
Campaigns pull in the machinery that makes the novels tick: achievements, viewers and followers, loot boxes, crafting, bosses, rival crawlers, gods, factions and the System AI hanging over all of it. Renegade has expansions planned plus a digital Season Pass running November 2026 through October 2027.
The other game nobodyās talking about yet
The same crowdfunding campaign also covered Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable, a solo or two-player cooperative card-crafting game designed by John D. Clair. You start with Carl or Donut and physically upgrade sleeved cards as you fight deeper into the dungeon.
The base game covers the first three floors. The Iron Tangle expansion adds the Fourth Floor, and Crawler Chaos brings in more playable characters. Unstoppable is also scheduled for retail in November 2026.
How a niche LitRPG series got this big
Matt Dinnimanās books were a relatively niche corner of LitRPG a few years ago. Then the novels and Jeff Haysā audiobooks caught fire together, and the eighth installment, A Parade of Horribles, landed as an instant #1 New York Times bestseller after its May 2026 release.
The mainline story is winding down. Dinniman is writing Book 9 under the working title The Beautiful Place, which is expected to close out the series across two physical volumes. The IP itself is doing the opposite of winding down, spreading across mediums in the coming years.
Which means the ending of Carlās story and the beginning of yours arrive within months of each other. Dinniman finishes the dungeon. Then you get handed the dice and a character sheet with a spot for your follower count.
