Shadowrun is a role-playing game set in an imaginary future where huge corporations control the lives of their employees and the return of magic has altered people, politics and power. When conflicts arise the corporations, governments, wealthy individuals and even organized crime can subcontract their dirty work to specialists. The most skilled of these specialists, called shadowrunners, have earned a reputation for getting the job done and have developed a knack for staying alive.

The Shadowrun world is cross-genre, incorporating elements of both cyberpunk and urban fantasy. The game is set approximately 60 years in the future of present-day Earth, and includes an account of important events from now until the time of the game. As in many near-future cyberpunk settings, Shadowrun includes advanced computer technology and sophisticated cybernetic implants. Unlike in a purely cyberpunk game, in the Shadowrun world, magic returns in 2011. Among other things, this causes humankind to split into subtypes, and some people take the form of elves, dwarves, orks or trolls. Likewise, some animals turn into the familiar monsters of fantasy, and both monsters and human magicians gain supernatural powers. By the second half of the 21st century, when the game is set, these events are accepted as commonplace.