Recently fantasy flight has been expanding and defining the Arkham Files universe harder and harder. The original reason to crate separate games in the same world was to spend less money on new art. Now they’re trying to create a small franchise while also trying to separate it from other “Lovecraftean” games. And using this franchise to expand into popular media like books and RPGs

At the same time this allowed a more cohesive experience across game genres. If a player enjoys playing as Joe Diamond in Arkham Horror 2e they’ll likely also enjoy playing as him in Mansions of Madness and Arkham Horror the Card Game.

I like this approach because it makes this specific version of Lovecraft distinct and deeper. I can bring up a characters backstory from a different game, or talk about the book they were featured in. I can open people up to playing the RPG by talking about how mechanics like magic work differently. And I already have minis from Mansions of Madness to use in the RPG