Critical Role Wildemount: Most Pre-orders Since D&D Core Rulebooks

It seems that the most popular D&D setting in the 5E era is... Wildemount! Talking about the upcoming Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, WotC's Greg Tito said on a Twitch stream recently that "we're pretty sure that this book has seen the most pre-orders and pre-release excitement since any of the core rulebooks for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition were released".

Here's the quote in full:

"...It was number 1, ranked number 1, for all books on Amazon. How many of you out there remember when Amazon was just selling books? Raise your hands. Yeah, that's me. So it's really cool, even though obviously I do a lot more other fun stuff right now, there is a ton out there that are excited for this book, and it isn't even out yet.

"We have little bit of an internal metrics, but we're pretty sure that this book has seen the most pre-orders and pre-release excitement since any of the core rulebooks for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition were released, and if you've been following along at home, Dungeons & Dragons has been selling like hotcakes since 5th Edition released in 2014."

It sounds like the Critical Role setting is proving more popular (at least right now) than traditional D&D settings like Ravenloft or Eberron, newer ones like Ravnica, or adventures set in the Forgotten Realms.

Explorer's Guide to Wildemount will hit game stores on March 17th.

 

[generic]

Is that a reference to the last version of the GW setting, which featured an end-of-the-Mayan-calendar supercollider accident that condensed multiple universes into one, or are they shelling out for the DC crossover?

I heard that Marvel was taking the reigns, meaning that Disney will control D&D.

 

[happyhermit]

This is great, as was the mindblowing kickstarter, but people seem to be getting a bit off track as to the scale of things. I see people suggesting CR might surpass D&D as a brand or in terms of popularity, while anything is possible, the two things are on an entirely different scale right now.

I mean, just as a jumping off point one can look at Google trends and see a massive difference with either the topics or search terms (despite D&D's fragmented nature). Like 10:1. Now, is the CR brand bigger in some ways than particular settings? Yes. I have no doubt that FR is still a more "popular" setting and will be for the foreseeable future, even though I think a FR campaign setting book would likely not sell as well as this one.

 

[FlyingChihuahua]

Then if in a future season of CR a player is a psion, a (incarnum) totemist shaman, vestige pact binder, a warblade or a chronomancer, then...everybody will buy the sourcebook?

or even better

a warlord.

 

[CleverNickName]

"It's a runaway success and that's bad!"
Stay awesome, Internet.

Regardless of how you feel about Critical Role, some things are obvious at this point. Matt Mercer has written a campaign setting that is enjoyed by tens of thousands of gamers. Wizards of the Coast noticed this, and has published his work to the mutual benefit of both parties.

Everything else is pretty much just speculation. Why so negative?

 

[Tony Vargas]

I heard that Marvel was taking the reigns, meaning that Disney will control D&D.

"If an entertainment IP is successful enough, long enough, it will be bought by Disney."

Something like that's probably a humorous internet 'law' by now.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

OH! The name was "secret multiverse infinite crisis war", and it has been a spoiler so big as a cathedral. You have revelaided too soon. I hope you are going to tell the part where a group of here is a TKP and then their souls are reincarnated in ertsaz versions of Hasbro toys and... wait, OUGH!

* Disney doesn't need D&D. It has the marvel Weirworld.

* I see warlord more for warbands skirmishes or mass battles.

* Hasbro in owner of Enternaiment One, and this can produce horror movies (perfect for action-live version of Ravenloft). I would bet WotC wants to create the ultimate d20 Modern for G.I.Joe against lovecraftian myths or survival horror in the WWI.

* CR has the power of its brand, but Hasbro has got money, staff and item. Bettter if both cooperate.

 

[Morrus]

"It's a runaway success and that's bad!"
Stay awesome, Internet.

Regardless of how you feel about Critical Role, some things are obvious at this point. Matt Mercer has written a campaign setting that is enjoyed by tens of thousands of gamers. Wizards of the Coast noticed this, and has published his work to the mutual benefit of both parties.

Everything else is pretty much just speculation. Why so negative?

I’m not seeing much of that in this thread. Seems generally pretty positive if somewhat speculative.

 

[Xenonnonex]

Everything else is pretty much just speculation. Why so negative?

Little shites tend to be extremely vocal.

 

[Tsuga C]

...newer ones like Ravnica, or adventures set in the Forgotten Realms.

Explorer's Guide to Wildemount will hit game stores on March 17th.

Ravnica is a second-rate Planescape.

Great news for Mercer & Co.! They deserve their laurels and their profits for doing such a masterful job at bringing their lively campaigns to us all.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Please don't tell yet the spoiler of the 4th season when a chronomancer send the hero team to the island of Jakandor and they have to help the champion Voltrononius and totemzords wardens, a group of rebels (nahualts, totem warriors with shapesifpting powers) who control biomechanical constructs whose core host the fey totem spirits agains the tyrrany of Rita Zedda and Lord Repulz, defiler vodoo masters of the Predacons, sentient living constructs what transphorms into their monster totems, and in the end the Celestia the alicorn princess totem is freeded. Have I mentioned empress Crysalis, the changeling centauress?

Now seriously. Maybe CR is the best broadcasting for the new products as settings or classes, and now CR is totally free to use D&D things with copyright, as the illithids. A couple of episodes set in Jakandor and everybody want to know what it was that mini-setting, for example.