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- It is not known at this point that the new iteration of D&D will even be called "5th Edition". WotC is simply referring to it as a "new iteration", or encouraging people to use the term "D&D Next".
- “I think that the actual naming of the game will come down to how the play-tests go and how people react to it. I’d love to just call it Dungeons & Dragons and leave the edition numbering behind.” - Mike Mearls.
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- "...to create a rule set that enables players of all types and styles to play a D&D game together by taking the best of each edition and getting at the soul of what D&D is." - Mike Mearls.
- "The goal of this project is to develop a universal rules system that takes from the best of every edition and get at the soul of what D&D is." - WotC.
- WotC stated clearly "[We are] extremely committed to tabletop gaming and the face to face experiences that D&D brings." There is clear recognition that although digital tools can enhance and supplement a game, the company has not lost sight of the fact that D&D is a tabletop roleplaying game, and not a digital experience.
- "With fourth edition, there was a huge focus on mechanics. The story was still there, but a lot of our customers were having trouble getting to it. In some ways, it was like we told people, ‘The right way to play guitar is to play thrash metal,’ But there’s other ways to play guitar.” - Mike Mearls.
- "The new edition is being conceived of as a modular, flexible system, easily customized to individual preferences. Just like a player makes his character, the Dungeon Master can make his ruleset. He might say ‘I’m going to run a military campaign, it’s going to be a lot of fighting’… so he’d use the combat chapter, drop in miniatures rules, and include the martial arts optional rules.” - Mike Mearls.
- "We hope to create a system that allows players to use much of their existing content, regardless of the edition. " - Mike Mearls.
- "I'm the lead designer of a project that will likely evolve into a new iteration of the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset. It's meant to be a set of rules that unites all the previous editions, and the players of those editions. It's a big project, and we plan on involving all comers to playtest and voice their opinions, because really, what's the point of designing a game no one wants to play? And who knows better what D&D players want than, well, D&D players. " - Monte Cook.
- "Working on a game that's almost 40 years old now, we've seen the complex end. And what happened with each edition of D&D is it got more complex and we need to go back to the original D&D." - Mike Mearls.
- This Legends & Lore article by Monte Cook says: "...this isn't another salvo in the so-called edition wars. This isn't an attempt to get you to play Dungeons & Dragons in a new way. This is the game you've already been playing, no matter what edition or version you prefer. The goal here is to embrace all forms of the D&D experience and to not exclude anyone. Imagine a game where the core essence of D&D has been distilled down to a very simple but entirely playable-in-its-right game. Now imagine that the game offered you modular, optional add-ons that allow you to create the character you want to play while letting the Dungeon Master create the game he or she wants to run. Like simple rules for your story-driven game? You're good to go. Like tactical combats and complex encounters? You can have that too. Like ultra-customized character creation? It's all there."
- "One of our employees had come up with the initial idea which he used to work up an RPG system for his home group. After talking with him, the R&D team went back to each edition of D&D and started looking at the places where they overlapped with each other and how they were unique. That kicked off the process that led to where we are today." - Mike Mearls.
- Intro Box Set? "The D&D Fantasy Roleplaying Game Starter Set in the red box has also been a real success for us. It highlights the importance of having a good intro product—something that is definitely on our radar as we plan for the future." - Mike Mearls.
- On role-playing, exploration, and combat: "If we support those three things, we've covered about 90% of what's important in the game." - Mike Mearls
- "In the next iteration of the game, though, we’re looking at shifting the focus more to the adventure, as opposed to individual encounters, and that will likely mean that we want to increase the sense of danger, which I think improves the experience during the exploration portions of the game." - Rodney Thompson.
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- There has been no indication of a launch date yet. However, the popular money is on Gen Con 2013 due to the fact that DDXP will be moving to Gen Con that year.
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- Mike Mearls, Team Lead
- Greg Bilsland, Team Producer
- [-]Monte Cook, Design Team Lead[/-] - Monte Cook left on April 25 2012
- Bruce Cordell, Designer
- Robert J. Schwalb, Designer
- Jeremy Crawford, Development Team Lead
- Tom LaPille, Developer
- Rodney Thompson, Developer
- Miranda Horner, Editor
