Sigil, Wizards of the Coast's VTT, Officially Launches

Sigil, the 3D VTT developed by Wizards of the Coast and formerly known as Project Sigil, has officially launched on Window devices. Today, Wizards of the Coast announced that anyone with a D&D Beyond account (free or paid) can now access Sigil, provided they have a computer with Windows OS. Interestingly, the system's full functionality is based off of D&D Beyond's subscription tiers, with access to create multiplayer rooms and the ability to share and load maps tied to the Master Tier account. Master Tier subscribers also have access to builder kits, custom mini outfits, and unpainted minis. The Sigil client can be downloaded from D&D Beyond.

Sigil has been in development since at least 2023 alongside the launch of the One D&D initiative. One major concern about the new system, which uses Unreal Engine 5 to create 3D battle maps for D&D, was its pricing. At least for now, pricing seems to be tied directly to D&D Beyond subscriptions instead of pushing an additional monetization scheme onto players.

EN World saw a preview build of Sigil earlier this year, with a robust and relatively quick-to-implement map building system. One question that I kept asking while previewing Sigil involved exactly what Wizards wanted Sigil to be, as it functionally appeared to be a level or map builder with some basic D&D automation built into the game. The system doesn't include a full D&D revised 5E engine, but it does contain a significant amount of integration for the app to mimic some of D&D Beyond's dice rolling and resource management system has. It doesn't look like a bad VTT, although it's more appropriate for big set piece battles rather than standard "goblins attack the caravan" type encounters.

 

[Parmandur]

given that it is free, I am not sure how it is supposed to generate income right now. I doubt it will get many people to subscribe to DDB.

I assume it is more about showing it to a wider audience as that finds bugs faster and stress-tests the system

Stress testing is probably the main reason...but the number of people who might take a look at Beyond because of thisnis probably not negligible.

 

[EthanSental]

Open up the shop and let me buy hero minis from the dnd story library…cheaper than the chase wizkids minis of the same characters

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Somebody probably decided they needed to start bringing in income to offset what they were spending in development. If that's the case, it doesn't bode well for future support unless it magically takes off.

But it’s bringing in the exact same amount of income? Like I guess more Master Tier subs may be sold to check it out, but it’s not really monetized yet.

 

[Distracted DM]

But it’s bringing in the exact same amount of income? Like I guess more Master Tier subs may be sold to check it out, but it’s not really monetized yet.

Yup, if they see an uptick in DDB subs that'll show interest. And more revenue.

 

[Clint_L]

That's not what DND beyond says, which was my point. People are expecting a finished product....

Are they? I agree that it could be labeled more clearly, but I doubt that many DDB master tier subscribers have a lot of illusions about what this is. We've been receiving emails about it for some time, and the various releases around Sigil have made it pretty plain that this is an initial, limited test.

So I don't think there is likely to be a huge contingent of confused master tier subscribers. I'm bummed because I can't try it out as I'm not on Windows OS, but that had also been announced months ago.

Why are we complaining about the free thing that people can opt to test, again? Communication could be clearer, especially with non-master tier subscribers? Okay, I agree. Moving on.

 

[Hussar]

But it’s bringing in the exact same amount of income? Like I guess more Master Tier subs may be sold to check it out, but it’s not really monetized yet.

No, you are doing it wrong.

Every single thing that WotC does must be interpreted in the most negative way possible, regardless of things like facts or actual information. If WotC is releasing an ENTIRELY FREE program in order to test it out and see how people like it, it's because they are desperately in need of cash and are on the brink of failure.

At least, I think that's how it's done. Seems like it anyway.

"Waiter, this hundred dollar bill you just gave me is folded entirely the wrong way!! Send it back."

 

[LordEntrails]

But it’s bringing in the exact same amount of income? Like I guess more Master Tier subs may be sold to check it out, but it’s not really monetized yet.

We don't know, and probably never will. I did not mean to imply that level of accounting. Rather just seems to me like an executive decided that they had spent enough time in development and now needed to kick it out the door so that it should see the light of day and start being a revenue generator instead of a revenue sink. IMO depending upon a thousand factors I don't know, that makes perfect business sense.

If WotC is releasing an ENTIRELY FREE program in order to test it out

Sigil has never been ENTIRELY FREE. It has always required the turning over of personal information. Maybe that is not valuable to you, but it is to many people. It certainly is to companies that collect and sell that PI all the time. It's certainly valuable to my wife's clients when they pay money for it.

 

[Zaukrie]

Are they? I agree that it could be labeled more clearly, but I doubt that many DDB master tier subscribers have a lot of illusions about what this is. We've been receiving emails about it for some time, and the various releases around Sigil have made it pretty plain that this is an initial, limited test.

So I don't think there is likely to be a huge contingent of confused master tier subscribers. I'm bummed because I can't try it out as I'm not on Windows OS, but that had also been announced months ago.

Why are we complaining about the free thing that people can opt to test, again? Communication could be clearer, especially with non-master tier subscribers? Okay, I agree. Moving on.

If you visit the discord, yes, people are expecting it to be more done. Nothing about it says test in the marketing.

If I didn't know it was MVP, and I saw this, I'd not pay money ...

 

[TheSword]

Yes, definitely needs a + thread.

 

[TomKeegasi]

Wait! So instead of using some In-Browser (3D) engine like Unity they decided it is a good idea to create an installable (windows-only) program? I'm not sure this is a good idea when you want to get into the VTT market, where every other provider (FoundryVTT, Roll20, Owlbear Rodeo, Alchemy, etc.) lets (at least the players) access it through the browser.

Eh yeah, no thank you...