Adventure Beyond in Starfinder Second Edition!

With summer on the horizon, Paizo looks forward to the launch of its new edition of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game! Starfinder Second Edition brings the science fantasy you love to join up with Pathfinder Second Edition’s celebrated game engine! There’s no limit to the stories that can be told in Starfinder Second Edition – and the launch is only the beginning!

New Planets, New Lore, New Rules!

Starfinder Second Edition soft launched this month (May) with the release of Starfinder Galaxy Guide, a setting book that serves as a refresh for the cosmos! During the Starfinder Second Edition Playtest, a number of setting-altering events were explored through playtest adventures, such as the birth of a new cosmic entity from the planet it was incubating within and the beginnings of interstellar war between the Azlanti Empire and the Veskarium! Starfinder Galaxy Guide explores how these events, along with other key points of Starfinder First Edition’s canon, have shaped the galaxy as it is today.

While Starfinder Galaxy Guide precedes the rulebooks, it serves as a wonderful way to prepare for your Starfinder campaign and think about what sorts of adventures you want to delve into. The book divides planets up by adventure genres such as high fantasy (in space), horror, cyberpunk, space operas, and more—giving GMs ideal settings for any story they can dream of!

The full launch of Starfinder Second Edition begins with Starfinder Player Core, the rulebook that gives players and GMs alike everything to start playing! Starfinder Player Core contains full rules for six core classes—the envoy, mystic, operative, solarion, soldier, and witchwarper—plus a variety of ancestries, heritages, and backgrounds to build unique characters. With chapters focused on both playing the game and running Starfinder Second Edition, Starfinder Player Core sets the foundation for the system!

For Game Masters looking to delve deeper into science fantasy subsystems, build their own planets, and take players for a spin, Starfinder GM Core delivers a stellar package of expansion features for the GM. From cinematic starship combat and hacking to guides for anachronistic adventures, Starfinder GM Core gives GMs the power to create whole new galaxies for their players to explore.

What’s a vast galaxy to explore without creatures to fill it? Starfinder Alien Core helps populate the planets, moons, and asteroids of the star system with all manner of creatures. Whether your adventure needs a slew of low-level glitch gremlins and hardlight scamps or the looming cosmic horror of the illumantula, Starfinder Alien Core will provide. Plus—build your own alien threats with the custom creature rules!

Starfinder Galaxy Guide releases in May 2025. Starfinder Player Core releases at Gen Con on July 31^st, and in August across retail locations. Pick up Starfinder GM Core in September 2025, and complete your collection with Starfinder Alien Core in November 2025!

Adventures that Explore the Cosmos!

With the launch of Starfinder Second Edition, we are also excited to bring new adventures—and new adventure formats—to the table! The first adventure for Starfinder Second Edition crashes into local game stores this June for Free RPG Day—Starfinder Battle for Nova Rush! In this quick, high-octane adventure, players take on the role of pregenerated characters trying to wrestle a new starship out from under the control of a space pirate captain. But pirates aren’t the only danger, as the struggle brings the Nova Rush in contact with a powerful Corpse Fleet ship—will your heroes be able to steal the Nova Rush back and pilot her to safety?

To complement Starfinder Player Core and the launch of Starfinder Second Edition, we are also debuting our first deluxe boxed adventure—Murder in Metal City. Murder in Metal City is a deluxe first-level experience, giving players 64 pages of action to really experience Starfinder Second Edition at first level. This boxed adventure will include everything needed for play, from flip-mats and pawns to pre-generated character sheets. Solve a high-stakes, high-tech murder mystery and explore the dangerous underbelly of Aballon, planet of the machines.

For players and GMs looking for a longer campaign, Starfinder Second Edition’s first hardcover adventure launches in fall—Starfinder Guilt of the Grave World. Explore Eox, the planet of the undead, and learn secrets about the planet’s founding, as well as the background of Zo!—Starfinder’s eccentric undead reality show host! Guilt of the Grave World takes players from first to fifth level as they dive into the mysteries of Eox.

Battle for Nova Rush drops on Free RPG Day, June 21^st 2025. Murder in Metal City is a Starfinder Second Edition launch product at Gen Con 2025. Guilt of the Grave World will hit shelves and stores October 2025.

Pathfinder Compatibility and Anachronistic Play!

One of the key elements of Starfinder Second Edition is the fact that it shares the same base engine as Pathfinder Second Edition! To this end, all classes, ancestries, creatures, spells, and equipment can be used interchangeably between systems. We’re calling this a “compatible, but not necessarily balanced” experience – Starfinder characters almost always have access to ranged weapons like laser pistols, for example, which can change the balance of a battle against Pathfinder enemies. But, a spell that requires a comm device as a target also cannot be used against a character who doesn’t have one!

A chapter of Starfinder GM Core—Running Anachronistic Adventures—provides guidelines for GMs looking to implement Pathfinder and Starfinder elements into the same campaign or adventure. Send your Starfinder heroes crashing down onto a planet with Pathfinder’s current tech level, or throw your Pathfinder characters forward through space-time into a future filled with computers and wonder!

We encourage players and GMs to have fun mixing the systems and finding a groove that works for you! 2025 is the year Paizo welcomes you all to shoot for the stars!