Dungeons and Dragons has rather a lot deliberate for the approaching 12 months. Following the 2024 launch of its revised fifth version ruleset (which the builders have come round to calling “5.5e” after initially resisting), the D&D workforce has crafted a seasonal content material construction harking back to a live-service online game like Overwatch or Fortnite. At immediately’s Gen Con presentation, we acquired an honest have a look at all of the expansions, collaborations, and tie-in merchandise on the horizon for the approaching 12 months. It is rather a lot, so here is a rundown of what to anticipate in chronological order.
Season of Magic: July – September 2026
Arcana Unleashed
The primary (and technically ongoing) season brings a pair of Arcana Unleashed books, themed round magical subclasses, objects, and an journey that pits gamers towards the Purple Wizards of Thay (a faction you would possibly acknowledge from the 2023 Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves film).
Arcana Unleashed is the gameplay enlargement, which incorporates eight subclasses, 33 spells, 10 backgrounds, 29 feats, 47 magic objects, and extra. It additionally concludes with a brief journey for first-level characters to check out the brand new arcane additions. In the meantime, Arcana Unleashed: Deadfall is a “magical espionage marketing campaign” that has you face off towards Szass Tam, the dreaded lich. It is designed to carry gamers from stage 11 as much as stage 20. Each Arcana Unleashed books drop September 15.
DnDBeyond.com/LFG
Subsequent, Dungeons & Dragons is including a brand new game-finding function to D&D Past, and you may test it out at dndbeyond.com/lfg. This web page has three capabilities. First, you need to use it to search out in-person video games close to you. Second, D&D is partnering with startplaying.video games to offer gamers a reduction when utilizing the service, which connects individuals to for-hire Dungeon Masters on-line. Particularly, it makes the primary sport value simply 99 cents. Lastly, there can even be a server to attach gamers with gamers by Discord.
Season of Champions: October – December 2026
Dungeons & Dragons: World of Warcraft
The following season is headlined by Dungeons & Dragons: World of Warcraft, one of many TTRPG’s extra formidable crossovers. Not solely does it carry Azeroth to the world of D&D, however the designers are boasting that it is a very thorough crossover. With 11 new species and 9 subclasses, the workforce says you’ll be able to play as any World of Warcraft race and sophistication mixture that you may play within the sport. It additionally contains seven World of Warcraft dungeons, 30 dungeon boss stat blocks, over 60 new spells, over 50 new monsters, and bespoke mechanics for professions, mounts, companion creatures, and faction rewards.
Dungeons & Dragons: World of Warcraft, alongside a brand new DM display, a pack of Icecrown Citadel maps (with an included journey), and two packs of miniatures, launch on November 17. Like with all D&D merchandise, you can even entry them two weeks early if you buy them from an area sport retailer or pay for the D&D Past subscription Grasp Tier. The entire suite of merchandise is on the market for pre-order immediately.
D&D: Universes Past
That is the primary collaboration in a brand new initiative known as Universes Past, which seeks to companion D&D content material and mechanics with appropriate crossover universes. Whereas that is the primary and solely instance we have seen to this point, it is not onerous to think about that the D&D workforce will take some steering from the quite a few crossover collections seen in Magic: The Gathering lately.
Season of Survival: February – July 2027
Darkish Solar
Darkish Solar returns subsequent 12 months, kicking 2027 off with a bloody bang. It is set in Athas, a brutal world of city-states dominated by sorcerer kings, and with intense violence and sexual themes, the setting is fairly mature for D&D requirements. The artwork is graphic, however so are a number of the guidelines – in a non-public briefing of the information, we heard designers tease an elective decapitation mechanic, for instance. It is truly excessive sufficient that it comes with a content material warning, and copies in shops should be shrink-wrapped on cabinets so delicate audiences do not by accident view its graphic artwork. The information was accompanied by a very grotesque animated trailer, full with cartoon dismemberment, to set the tone.
That trailer additionally has footage of an individual preventing foes with psychic powers, as a result of this guide will lastly re-introduce the Psion class to the D&D world. Whereas it initially appeared in some playtesting materials early in fifth version’s lifespan, Wizards of the Coast in the end selected so as to add psychic-themed subclasses to its current courses as an alternative, saving the brand new guidelines for an additional time. Final 12 months, it was launched once more as Unearthed Arcana, and it appears that evidently this time, the design workforce was in a position to make sufficient progress to maneuver it on the trail in the direction of publication.
The content material launch contains two important books: Darkish Solar: Fringe of Oblivion is a setting enlargement, whereas Darkish Solar: Blood and Energy is a gameplay enlargement. The drop can even embody a map pack, a Darkish Solar DM Display, and a restricted version 5.5e Participant’s Handbook with Darkish Solar cowl artwork.
Season of Sword & Sorcery: September – October 2027
Greyhawk: Crown of the Witch Queen
The final introduced season, scheduled for late 2027, will carry a brand new Greyhawk marketing campaign setting, returning gamers to considered one of D&D’s earliest unique worlds. Greyhawk: Crown of the Witch Queen might be a 160-page hardcover guide that’s villain-focused, centering on Drelzna, the vampire daughter of Iggwilv (who’s also referred to as Tasha). It is over a 12 months out, so particulars are restricted, however we all know the guide might be accompanied by a Greyhawk DM display and a map pack.
Different Bulletins
Lastly, here is a rundown of all the things else talked about within the presentation that do not have a particular date tied to them.
D&D Icons
D&D Icons is a brand new collaboration marketing campaign to carry storied creators to work with the present design workforce on upcoming D&D content material. Joe Manganiello (who I performed HeroQuest with final 12 months) would be the program’s chief artistic officer, and this system will launch with collaborations with Luke Gygax (who will work on Greyhawk supplies), Margaret Wies and Tracy Hickman (who will work on Dragonlance supplies), and R. A. Salvatore (from The Legend of Drizzt). D&D says this group of cohorts is simply the beginning of the Icons program, and hopes to work with extra creators sooner or later.
D&D Past Enhancements
Subsequent, the presenters introduced an overhaul to the D&D Past app, which is meant to make it a extra useful cell companion to be used on the desk, not only for on-line play. It appears to be like streamlined, with extra intuitive menus and a cleaner interface. A model is scheduled to drop in 2027, however the builders harassed it will likely be a “very early model” and that they’re going to be counting on participant suggestions to form the ultimate product.
Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons
We additionally discovered extra about Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons, the upcoming third-person action-adventure sport. Each warlock wants a patron, and immediately we discovered the patron on this story might be Tasha, the Witch Queen. We additionally discovered she’ll be voiced by Maggie Robertson (finest recognized for enjoying Woman Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village), and that we’ll get our first glimpse of gameplay at Gamescom subsequent month.
Annual Setting Assist
We additionally discovered that D&D is teaming up with third-party TTRPG designers to create a extra common cadence of releases in its current marketing campaign settings. Ghostfire Gaming is creating a Ravenloft journey for subsequent 12 months, Visionary Productions is creating an Eberron journey that includes the Lord of Blades for 2028, and Kobold Press is engaged on future content material set within the Forgotten Realms.
D&D/Star Wars Crossover
Particulars are scarce, however Wizards of the Coast additionally used its showcase to disclose upcoming plans for a “Season of Rise up” associated to some sort of Star Wars crossover. Wizards of the Coast revealed one of many important iterations of the Star Wars TTRPG beginning means again in 2007, however a newer Star Wars RPG (with totally different guidelines) has been revealed by Fantasy Flight in newer years. We’ll have to attend to study exactly what this new crossover would possibly contain.
