Paizo announced today that unique downloads of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Alpha PDF had topped 25,000.

"When we announced our intentions to stick with the 3.5 rules via the Open Game License, many internet pundits declared us fools for not going with the flow of the new 4th edition," said Paizo's Publisher, Erik Mona. "The 25,000 individual download threshold suggests to me that we were right to identify a stable audience for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and the response to our Open Playtest has been nothing short of phenomenal."

The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is a complete, standalone fantasy RPG that will be released as a massive hardcover book at Gen Con in 2009. Published under the 3.5 Open Game License, the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game updates the 3.5 edition of the world's most popular roleplaying game by adding new rules, new features, and correcting common game play complaints while also staying backward compatible to the 3.5 rules.

Last April, Paizo launched the hobby gaming industry's first wide-scale, completely open playtest of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Alpha rules and has released a total of three Alpha PDFs as free downloads on paizo.com. Next month, at Gen Con, Paizo will launch the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Beta which represents the final, 10-month long open playtest of the rules system. The Beta will be available as a free PDF download on paizo.com as well as a 408-page, full-color, soft-cover book for $24.99.

To learn more about the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, visit paizo.com/pathfinderRPG.

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING
Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, board games, and novels. Paizo's Pathfinder™ line of adventures and Pathfinder Chronicles™ campaign setting support materials combine decades of game design experience into one evocative system compatible with the 3.5 rules. Paizo's GameMastery® line offers easy-to-use tools for Game Masters of any fantasy roleplaying game to improve their gaming experience. Titanic Games™, Paizo's board game imprint, unleashes fun, challenging games like Kill Doctor Lucky™ and Yetisburg™ that appeal to both families and casual gamers alike. Paizo's Planet Stories line of science fiction and fantasy novel reprints promises a master class in the genre aimed at building the greatest fantasy and science fiction library ever assembled. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the five years since its founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.