When will D&D 5e be published?

[Dannager]

Well, the poll only goes out to 2020, which I think is several decades too short. I think 4e will continue with occasional rules revisions as a continually supported game through the DDI, with book sales eventually becoming irrelevant to the business model. With a subscription model, continuity becomes more profitable than having the customer base buy all new rulebooks every 3-4 years, so there will be little incentive to maintain the edition treadmill.

5e will come out when somebody invents holodeck technology and you have to buy a virtual reality chamber to "upgrade" to the new edition.

God I hope this turns out to be the case. If the current game can see regular updates - including to core conceits of the system that become outdated or whose flaws are evident - through digital distribution (like DDI), and if this subscription model can financially sustain the product line, I'd love to see this happen. It would be truly forward-thinking, and an excellent example to point to in terms of industry leadership.

 

[Relique du Madde]

Right before the end of the world.

Therefore, if the world ends in 2012, they will anounce it before the end of this year. If not, beat's me.

 

[haakon1]

With a subscription model, continuity becomes more profitable than having the customer base buy all new rulebooks every 3-4 years, so there will be little incentive to maintain the edition treadmill.

Maybe, but I think 2e or 3.5e could have lived forever too. If nothing else, new editions give the IP owner's marketing people something to talk about.

It's hard to create buzz for "we're still here, good as ever".

 

[malraux]

I'm betting the new edition will come out right about the time I start becoming unsatisfied with 4e and start thinking of running a different system as my main game.

 

[thecasualoblivion]

Maybe, but I think 2e or 3.5e could have lived forever too. If nothing else, new editions give the IP owner's marketing people something to talk about.

It's hard to create buzz for "we're still here, good as ever".

I'm not so sure. 2E(and previous editions) were based aesthetically on classic fantasy fiction(strangely enough, 2E was also influenced aesthetically by D&D novels, a weird incestuous influence), and the mechanics were geared to suit those aesthetics. These aesthetics seem really out of date when you look at modern movies, anime, and cinematic 3D video games. I was playing 2E when I started being influenced by these modern fantasy aesthetics, and inserting them into the games I was running was mostly on me, as I was getting little help from the system. Like many RPG players of the era, I got sucked into Vampire, which scratched the aesthetic tastes of my 20something self much more than 2E. 3E seemed kind of a mishmash of the old and new to me, often conflicted. It was old school D&D, but with Half Demon Drow PCs, laser beams, and Wuxia.

In addition, mostly in regards to 2E, the mechanics really didn't keep up with the times. More than anything, I and a lot of people in the gaming world got hooked on complex, option filled character generation which was found in computer/console RPGs and in tabletop systems other than D&D. Playing Final Fantasy III(VI in Japan), the original Elder Scrolls, and Vampire: the Masquerade I had a lot of interesting fiddly bits to play with in customizing characters, and D&D was looking way out of date in this regard.

 

[shinmizu]

It's hard to create buzz for "we're still here, good as ever".

They could always hire Coke and Pepsi's advertising agents. I'm looking forward to plushie D&D polar owlbears.

 

[Dykstrav]

Some of the other posters have hit it right on the head... I think a new edition will be announced as soon as the company decides that it's a good idea to do so. Their criteria won't necessarily match those of the entire fan base, however, and even if they did, people won't agree as to whether those criteria have been reached or if they are even valid.

I get the feeling that D&D in its current incarnation will have a lifespan of approximately five years. I don't have any reason for this, it's just a gut feeling.

For my own part, I hope that D&D never goes to an entirely digital method of distribution. I'm done with hauling a laptop back and forth between game sessions, and I don't want technology to "improve" my game any further. I'm sure that this isn't everyone's experience... But 4E players that I've played with know less about the game, less about the rules, and less about what their characters can do than in any version that I've ever seen. At first, I thought it was just my group. But two years in, playing on and off with eleven separate groups, many players still think that "I don't have to know that, the character generator does that for me."

I play 4E. But I do think technology enables some people to become lazy. Does anyone remember when cellular telephones weren't common? People used to actually memorize phone numbers, not because they tried, but because they dialed them so much. Remember when GPS technology wasn't available? People used to be able to give you directions to somewhere you haven't been before. Nowadays, people don't commonly know any phone numbers (except, perhaps, their own), and asking someone for directions usually gets you told to go to Google. That same phenomenon has been creeping into the 4E games I've played within the last two years. People don't know their material and don't want to learn it because they expect technology to do it for them.

Despite the rules being simpler and the character options far more limited, players know the rules and how their characters work to a lesser degree than in previous editions.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Too early to tell at this stage. We should have a clearer picture about the longevity of 4E after the release of the 4.5 boxed sets this fall.

 

[ggroy]

At this point, one mind as well roll a d20 to determine how many years 5E will appear.

The case of rolling a natural 20, would be the case of Hasbro/WotC taking D&D off the market and shelving the IP for two decades.

(This is just as informative as a "magic 8-ball").

 

[bagger245]

If I wanted fully digital, I would go for an improved MMO with DM and player capabilities.

Going fully digital means players are less inclined to know the rules. A few clicks and you have a character. Basically like the Dragon Age character builder that they released before the game. A good thing perhaps? But how do they market it? Marketing it in online is suicidal as it competes head to head with video games and rpgs who are still book based will emerge as a flagship.