The rule variants you can use for whichever setting you want to and however you want to. Pulp is on one hand a setting, but we have a lot of those and then it's a rule variant (couple of paragraphs + talents). Then you have the talents, but those are also a couple of pages max.

The differences are minimal, you can sum them up in a paragraph or two. Regarding 'normal CoC' and Pulp, for me those are the same. Yes, a new edition is probably too soon but as I mentioned above I could live with a new printing. No, CoC hasn't changed much since its inception, it always remained a BRP system and there is only so much deviation possible similar to GURPS or Rolemaster etc. This isn't D&D or your cash cow miniature game that redefines itself completely new every five years.

And I'm not seeing anything on the horizon there. Plus, any future edition needs to come up with ideas for baseline Cthulhu and Pulp.

That makes it a) somewhat more daunting as a case (capital needed) and b) somewhat less appealing, sine you need to win over two types of fans. So, with two systems under the current edition, any 8th edition would need to revise both rule systems. While CoC might evolve in the future - destination unknown - we do have a version appealing to different player wishes, it's Pulp Cthulhu. The 7th seems to be doing well enough and I've certainly heard no rumours about its imminent demise.ДЄbsolutely this. At the moment I'm not sure that there would be an obvious benefit and direction for an eighth edition to take. That can be different for the publisher than for the consumer, of course. I did appreciate seeing some of those scenarios return to print in the Starter's box set though.Д«ut anyway, no new edition planned, and no new edition needed at the moment.ДЄ new edition of any game, as opposed to a new printing with minor corrections or updates, ought to be done with a strong specific goal in mind. The things I miss from previous edition'sВ core books, really, is some of the 'fluff' - like the complete Call of Cthulhu short story or some of the classic scenarios. Indeed, you could buy the Keeper's book, skip the players book and buy Pulp Cthulhu instead, if you were in that way inclined.ДЄnyway, for me, I have got a few issues with some rules (expressed ad nauseam previously), but I'd still prefer this edition a chance to grow - and it's supplemental releases have been generally excellent so far. As such, you don't need the Player's book, it just gives more player characer options. However, playtesters complained so they had to reformat the Keeper's book to being a standalone core rules. Well, I think it was confusing for the developers when it was being made, because the original idea was for the core rules to be spread through the two books in a manner not dissimilar to D&D. I don't think it went far enough and I'd like to see redundant skill consolidation and another pass at automatic weapons, but there's still enough people who want to chuck the whole thing and go backwards that I just don't see it as being a viable option to move further forward. I would not makeВ changes to the actual system. As others have suggested, I think the current 'two book set' is confusing, doubly more for D&D players because for D&D the Players Handbook is the 'rules' and the GM book is the fluff, where it's opposite for CoC.

Call of cthulhu rpg 5th edition