The Fonds Patrimonial du Jeu de Société (Heritage Board Game Collection) of Université Sorbonne Paris Nord is organizing a two-day study session on Thursday, June 18, and Friday, June 19, 2026, dedicated to role-playing games and their economy.
For more than a decade, role-playing games have experienced a resurgence of interest, accompanied by a profound transformation in their systems of creation, production, distribution, and consumption. The economy of role-playing games -long marginal, artisanal, and rooted in passion-driven or volunteer-based practices - has gradually become more professionalized, while still maintaining its community dimension.
By 2025, crowdfunding campaigns, specialized YouTube channels, actual play streams, game stores, digital sales platforms (such as Itch.io or DriveThruRPG), hybrid conventions (physical/online), and social networks have all shaped a new ecosystem. This ecosystem raises questions about the status of authors, sustainable economic models, the tensions between amateurs and professionals, and the social representations of this hobby, at the crossroads of popular culture, digital media, and the creative economy.
These two study days aim to examine the current economy of role-playing games, highlighting the actors, practices, tools, and discourses that structure it.
Submission Guidelines
The call for presentations is open to both professionals from the role-playing game industry and community (designers, publishers, distributors, illustrators, etc.) and to researchers and students.
Proposals may take the form of:
Presentations: academic contributions or professional feedback from practitioners (authors, publishers, distributors, illustrators, etc.);
Hybrid formats: round tables, workshops, or project presentations.
Please submit a proposal including:
A title
An abstract of 2,000 to 3,000 characters (including spaces)
A short biographical and bibliographical note (or a short personal presentation)
A brief biography and a bibliography / ludography, depending on the format of your contribution
The full call for papers can be downloaded under the “Call for Presentations” tab.
Registration for the Study Days
The study days are free and open to all. For organizational purposes, please let us know if you plan to attend by sending an email to the contact address: jeuderole.fpjs@sciencesconf.org
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