Shadowrun is a science fantasy tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspiracy, horror and detective fiction. From its inception in 1989, Shadowrun has remained among the most popular role-playing games. It has spawned a vast franchise that includes a series of novels, a collectible card game, two miniature-based tabletop wargames, and multiple video games.

The title is taken from the game's main premise – a near-future world damaged by a massive magical event, where industrial espionage and corporate warfare runs rampant. A shadowrun – a successful data theft or physical break-in at a rival corporation or organization – is one of the main tools employed by both corporate rivals and underworld figures. Deckers (futuristic hackers) who can tap into an immersive, three-dimensional cyberspace are opposed by rival deckers and lethal, potentially brain-destroying artificial intelligences called "Intrusion Countermeasures" – "IC" for short – who are protected by street fighters and/or mercenaries, often with cyborg implants (called cyberware), magicians, and other exotic figures, on such missions as they seek access, physical or remote, to the power structures of rival groups. Magic has also returned to the world after a series of plagues; dragons who can take human form have returned as well, and are commonly found in high positions of corporate power.

Shadowrun takes place several decades in the future (2050 in the first edition, currently 2084. The end of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar ushered in the "Sixth World" with once-mythological beings (e.g. dragons) appearing and forms of magic suddenly emerging. Large numbers of humans have "Goblinized" into orks and trolls, while many human children are born as elves, dwarves, and even more exotic creatures. In North America, indigenous peoples discovered that their traditional ceremonies allow them to command powerful spirits, and rituals associated with a new Ghost Dance movement let them take control of much of the western U.S. and Canada, where they formed a federation of Native American Nations. Seattle remains under U.S. control by treaty as a city-state enclave, and most game materials are set there and assume campaigns will use it as their setting.

In parallel with these magical developments, the setting's 21st century features technological and social developments associated with cyberpunk science fiction. Megacorporations control the lives of their employees and command their own armies; the ten largest have extraterritoriality, such as currently enjoyed by foreign heads of state. Technological advances make cyberware (mechanical replacement body parts) and bioware (augmented vat-grown body parts implanted in place of natural organs) common. The Computer Crash of 2029 led to the creation of the Matrix, a worldwide computer network that users interact with via direct neural interface. When conflicts arise, corporations, governments, organized crime syndicates, and even wealthy individuals subcontract their dirty work to specialists, who then perform "shadowruns" or missions undertaken by deniable assets without identities or those that wish to remain unknown. The most skilled of these specialists, called shadowrunners, have earned a reputation for getting the job done. They have developed a knack for staying alive, and prospering, in the world of Shadowrun.

The Shadowrun TTRPG game mechanics are based entirely on a 6-sided dice system. The game is skill-based rather than class-based, but archetypes are presented in the main book to give players and gamemasters an idea of what is possible with the system.

Although the skill system is freeform, certain combinations of skills and equipment work well together. This combination of specialization in skill and equipment is known as an archetype. The most notable archetypes are street samurai, characters who have heavily augmented their bodies with cyberware and bioware and focus on physical combat; adepts, characters who have magical abilities that increase their physical (and sometimes mental) combat abilities; faces, highly charismatic characters who specialize in negotiations and social manipulation; hackers (deckers), experts in electronic surveillance, security, and augmented/virtual reality monitoring, combat and response; riggers, who augment their brains to achieve fine control over vehicles and drones; and magicians, who cast spells and can view emotions and call spirits from astral space.

However, the archetypes are not character classes: the player is allowed to cross boundaries. Restrictions are not imposed by the system itself, but by the player's specializations. Because character-building resources are limited, the player has to weigh which game resource he wants to specialize in and which he has to neglect. This allows high character customization while still ensuring that characters are viable in the setting.

Eight video games have been developed based on the Shadowrun franchise; Chronology of Shadowrun video games:

1993 – Shadowrun (Beam Software; SNES)
1994 – Shadowrun (BlueSky Software; Genesis/Mega Drive)
1996 – Shadowrun (Group SNE; Sega/Mega CD)
2007 – Shadowrun (FASA Interactive; Windows and Xbox 360)
2013 – Shadowrun Returns (Harebrained Schemes; Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS and Android tablets, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5)
2014 – Shadowrun: Dragonfall (Harebrained Schemes; Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS and Android tablets, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5)
2015 – Shadowrun Chronicles: Boston Lockdown (Cliffhanger Productions; Windows, Linux, Mac, Ouya, iOS and Android tablets, all desktop browsers via the Unity Web Player)
2015 – Shadowrun: Hong Kong (Harebrained Schemes; Windows, Linux, Mac, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5)
2022 - Shadowrun Trilogy (Harebrained Schemes; Windows, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5)

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