WotC Chris Perkins announces Retirement from Dungeons and Dragons

Over on Twitter and Bluesky, Chris Perkins has announced his retirement from Dungeons and Dragons.

Chris Perkins started officially working for Wizards of the Coast in 1997 as an Editor for Dungeon Magazine. Since then, he has functioned as the Editor in Chief of D&D Periodicals, A Senior Producer, and eventually landing as the Senior Story Editor over D&D 5e and Game Architect on D&D 5e 2024.

He also is known for acting as one of the Dungeons Masters for Acquisitions, Incorporated.

Personally, I'll miss the guy's work.

https://bsky.app/profile/chrisperkinsdnd.bsky.social%2Fpost%2F3llyvdjkphk2p

 

[Zaukrie]

Yeah, in retrospect you are completely correct. It really is par for the course regarding WotC. Don't mind me!

Not just WotC...... Few companies keep employees this long anymore.

 

[Queer Venger]

He can call it whatever he likes. For all intents and purposes it's 5.5 though.

I know, we all know, but It was a funny true story chatting with CP. Im hoping my signed sweaty DM's trucker hat just went up in value.

 

[darjr]

Is something happening over at WotC that I'm just not aware of? They seem to be shedding a lot of seasoned talent lately.

Greg Bilsland has posted that he is returning to WotC as Executive Producer of Dungeons & Dragons

 

[Stormonu]

I too would like to see D&D do another survey or two of its fan base, especially since the new core books have been dropped. Beyond UA's, I can't recall when the last "general" survey was done, and as I recall, it got pulled in less than 24 hours (the infamous "Do you like WotC" question).

I would hope they wouldn't only break it into player age, but on purchase uptake - from what I have seen a lot of the younger folks access D&D by digital means and very rarely purchase physical (or digital) copies and just use various web sites to look up information - something that doesn't give WotC any money. They really need to put assumptions aside and be looking at what and where things are being bought - and by who. (I suspect they may be using DDB backend data for that, if they have someone even looking - but I strongly suspect DDB data is only part of the picture and may be warping what's really going on out in meatspace).

 

[EthanSental]

Greg Bilsland has posted that he is returning to WotC as Executive Producer of Dungeons & Dragons

Nice! I like Greg and his videos in 2014 for Phandelver adventure.

 

[darjr]

D&D General Thread 'Former WotC Employee Greg Bilsland Returning to D&D?'

Apr 7, 2025

I just saw on my Twitter (X) timeline that former WotC D&D employee Greg Bilsland has posted that he is returning to WotC as Executive Producer of Dungeons & Dragons.

https://x.com/gregbilsland/status/1909242876342800727

No idea if any other official announcement has been made.

• DEFCON 1
• Replies: 69
• Forum: *Dungeons & Dragons

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[Desdichado]

Too bad. I had hoped his influence might lead to an official Iomandra product at some point. Alas, all good things must come to an end.

If he did it as an unofficial product, now that he's retired, I'd consider picking it up.

Given it contains things like dragonborn and Io, I strongly suspect they wouldn't let him.

Dragonborn is in the SRD, and Io is from Greek mythology, and is also one of the moons of Jupiter. Sure, he'd probably use a different name or something. But he may have enough pull to get a dispensation to use the name anyway. I mean, Orcus as a specific D&D demon lord was done that way in the 00s by Necromancer Games after all.

 

[Desdichado]

Kind of an odd take given the lack of public facing info and that Chris even said it was selling like gang busters and he was going out on top with it and 50th anniversary.

What else would he say? There's plenty of evidence that that take isn't odd at all, and it's kind of the darling topic of the DungeonTuber community right now. If the take's so odd, why are so many people making it?

I'm not saying that I think that they're right; I honestly don't care enough to have investigated to form any kind of opinion. But you can't really say that a common take is an odd take; that is itself an odd take, given the prevalence of people who are interpreting what evidence there is that 5.5 isn't performing very well.

 

[Desdichado]

He can call it whatever he likes. For all intents and purposes it's 5.5 though.

Yeah, companies try all the time to make stuff like that happen. It doesn't seem to take. 5.5, other than here, seems to be what most people are calling it.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

If he did it as an unofficial product, now that he's retired, I'd consider picking it up.

Dragonborn is in the SRD, and Io is from Greek mythology, and is also one of the moons of Jupiter. Sure, he'd probably use a different name or something. But he may have enough pull to get a dispensation to use the name anyway. I mean, Orcus as a specific D&D demon lord was done that way in the 00s by Necromancer Games after all.

Dragonborn might be SRD now, but I'm still suspicious of WotC's stuff unless/until they fulfill their promise re: putting past editions in the Creative Commons (I am not confident they will do so, to be clear.) So given Iomandra was deeply steeped in 4e stuff, yeah, I'm not at all confident Perkins would be able to publish it without massive changes...which, I mean, having to make massive changes would kind of kill the project, I suspect.