D&D (2024) 50th Anniversary: 6E in 2024?

[Xeviat]

The 50th anniversary of D&D is coming up in 2024. 5E came out in 2014 and is still going strong. I'm very interested to see if WotC is going to keep pushing on with 5E, give us a 6E, or do something different this time around. A big release for the 50th Anniversary seems like a no-brainer to me, though.

Here's my suspicion: I suspect a new PHB with updated ancestries, classes, and possibly other rules, bringing in improvements learned over the ten years. Improvements like smoothing out bonus actions, increasing options, while maintaining simplicity. But, what I also suspect is that it will still be compatible with existing material, that they're going to try to keep it to the same math, so that older adventures can still be played, since 5E has been driven so strongly by adventures.

Big picture, what are your suspicions for the 50th Anniversary?

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Maybe a 5.5. but I suggest the option to can buy separately the +0.5, the expansion with the update of the rules.

I thought the 6Ed would be in 2030 because the 5Ed is being sold too well for the risk of a new edition war. Also I thought about the next edition would be designed to allow all the genres, even sci-fi and superheroes, but this is a serious challenge for the game designers who try to find the right power balance when PCs can use gadgets and modern technology.

What to offer in a 5.5? Modula creation, as in Pathfinder 2, the class features and the racial traits could be replaced with others from an optional list.

 

[ART!]

Semi-ideally, we get a good, successful D&D-branded movie by or in 2024, and that provides impetus to a) stick with 5E, but b) update it. Going to 6E any time soon is probably not in the cards at all, but some time soon they're going to need or want a revised PHB.

 

[ccs]

The 50th anniversary of D&D is coming up in 2024. 5E came out in 2014 and is still going strong. I'm very interested to see if WotC is going to keep pushing on with 5E, give us a 6E, or do something different this time around. A big release for the 50th Anniversary seems like a no-brainer to me, though.

Here's my suspicion: I suspect a new PHB with updated ancestries, classes, and possibly other rules, bringing in improvements learned over the ten years. Improvements like smoothing out bonus actions, increasing options, while maintaining simplicity. But, what I also suspect is that it will still be compatible with existing material, that they're going to try to keep it to the same math, so that older adventures can still be played, since 5E has been driven so strongly by adventures.

Big picture, what are your suspicions for the 50th Anniversary?

It's almost like you've read me making this very prediction sometime in the past 6 months - two years....

 

[Bacon Bits]

I think Tasha's is as close as we're likely to get to a 5.5e for quite awhile. Still, we've only worked our way through a quarter of the Circle of Eight, so there's a lot of room left.

6e will come out for the same reason every other edition came out: When WotC/Hasbro decides it makes business sense to invest the time in redeveloping content to sell to the same customers all over again. Developing the base game is much more time consuming and much more risky than supplemental content, so they'll likely do it after the brand has grown as much as 5e allows it to.

I wouldn't be too eager, either. 6e will likely choose to appeal to what has made 5e easy to grow faster: Streaming and online play. It may move the same direction as 4e tried to, with even more walled gardens than D&D Beyond offers. By then the FLGS might be a distant memory, killed by Amazon and COVID. They might decide against printed sales entirely.

 

[Shardstone]

What is the Circle of Eight?

 

[NotAYakk]

Prediction:
At the 50th anniversary, they'll release an updated version of a super-early version of D&D.

Maybe not chainmail era, but maybe including that as well.

Imagine a boxed product with a few eras of rules, from Chainmail up to (say) Red box, and then maybe a modernized Red box (no changes for "balance", just changes in formatting and presentation of the math; ie, replace THAC0 style tables with DC->modifier.)

 

[Bacon Bits]

What is the Circle of Eight?

The eight Wizards who came together to rule the City of Greyhawk.

The original members were Mordenkainen, Bigby, Bucknard, Drawmij, Leomund, Nystul, Otto, and Rary. It was preceeded by the Citadel of Eight, which shared some members.

Greyhawk - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Edit: I guess Tasha was never a member. I think I was misremembering Tenser, who later joined and left.

 

[ccs]

Semi-ideally, we get a good, successful D&D-branded movie by or in 2024, and that provides impetus to a) stick with 5E, but b) update it. Going to 6E any time soon is probably not in the cards at all, but some time soon they're going to need or want a revised PHB.

I just don't get this player based obsession with a D&D movie & all the grand hopes that get pinned on it.
From the company side? Sure. It's more advertising & merchandising, etc etc etc. $ $ $. Every company ultimately wants that.
But in case you haven't noticed? D&D has done fantastic these past 5 years - without a branded movie goosing sales for a few months.

And yes, 6e is most definitely in the cards. No matter what is currently said/not said by the powers that be.
In fact, right now, 5e is following a very familiar & predictable path that leads to a new edition. They are re-printing adventures (not just doing things inspired by or homages to previous versions of those adventures - for EX PotA, SKT) with cosmetic tweaks, releasing incredibly niche books (the MTG settings) and about to release a book of completely optional stuff. And growing amounts of errata (not as bad as previously, but...) These are things that often happen towards the end of an edition.
And now they're starting to make socially influenced changes to both lore & mechanics.
2024? I 100% believe that that'd be a fantastic launch point for 6e & celebrate the 50th anniversary of our favorite game.
But at this rate I'll be surprised if they make it to that date.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

The longest-lasting D&D edition to date was twelve years. Unless you count Basic D&D, which lasted far longer as a parallel line. A ten-year lifespan for 5e isn't outside the realm of possibility. That being said, sales of 5e continue to be good, and the D&D fanbase continues to grow.

Wizards has talked about 5e being an evergreen edition, but whether they can pull that off or not, remains to be seen. So far they're doing pretty well. I'd be happy for the game to hop off of the edition treadmill, that's for sure. But an updated PHB could entirely be possible.

Outside of edition speculation, I could see Greyhawk's return - it would have a certain synergy. IMDB, for what it's worth, still has the D&D movie listed as a 2022 release.