Wizards of the Coast Re-Registers Dark Sun With USPTO

Wizards of the Coast recently filed an application to register Dark Sun in the US, a sign that D&D could be bringing back the campaign setting in the near future. The trademark claim was filed on October 13th, 2025 and is poised to replace a previous trademark that was cancelled by the USPTO in 2024. The trademark, like most involving D&D properties, covers both "downloadable electronic games," "games and playthings," and "entertainment services." Similar active trademarks exist for other D&D campaign settings such as Spelljammer and Forgotten Realms, although neither of those have lapsed in recent years.

We'll note that, as the previous Dark Sun trademark lapsed a year ago, this could be a case of simple paperwork, or it could be the latest sign that a Dark Sun product is eminent. Earlier this year, Wizards released an Unearthed Arcana for the Psion class and several subclasses that all but spelled out a return to the setting, complete with mentions of sorcerer-kings, gladiatorial fights, and preservers and defilers.

 

[Zaukrie]

The direction they went was so weird. Lost Mine is probably the most-played 5E game and there's a ton of conversation out there around it and it feels like they read none of it. (Good lord, even if you think the goblin cave is fine as-is, it certainly didn't need to be made harder.)

Just going for the obvious wins -- explaining more about the mine and Black Spider, or merging the content from the Essentials Set with it -- would have made a hardback for the ages.

Such a strange, unforced error.

there were also the three digital expansions near there. Your first sentence is spot on! There might be millions of words written about this adventure, and DMSGUILD expansions, etc.....and they ignored it all.

 

[pukunui]

How well was Ebberon received? Sure it got a book in 5e, but so did certain podcasts... The next Ebberon book was pushed back to be released sometime after the new FR books...

The next Eberron book has a production error (warping covers). They recalled the whole print run, but due to the printers being busy printing all the FR books, they couldn’t slot the Eberron book back into the system until later. It sucks for those of us who like Eberron, but there’s nothing sinister about it.

 

[Parmandur]

Maybe. Seems unlikely to me that they'd skip a D&D book at this point, though. Heck, why not both?

Honestly, I think it's strange that they aren't better at product "synergy". I mean, I get that video games take extremely longer than TTRPG production. But, so? Wait until the game is in its final stretch to make a TTRPG tie-in!

The problem is that D&D book/box set production is like 2 years, but video game production is 6 years. Hence why the BG3 tie-in came out with Early Release.

 

[Parmandur]

The next Eberron book has a production error (warping covers). They recalled the whole print run, but due to the printers being busy printing all the FR books, they couldn’t slot the Eberron book back into the system until later. It sucks for those of us who like Eberron, but there’s nothing sinister about it.

I mean, of everything WotC does, "being diligent about QA" is actually on the better end.

 

[Chaltab]

The problem is that D&D book/box set production is like 2 years, but video game production is 6 years. Hence why the BG3 tie-in came out with Early Release.

It was also by designer accounts a hasty addition to the product that was originally unrelated to Baldur's Gate. Which is presumably why the BG portions of the adventure feel so disjointed.

 

[Rhineglade]

Ummm what? Dark Sun had a ton of products/adventures for 2e. Athas.org (official fan site) carried it through to 3.5e and is actively working on edition flexible products to this day. They even run their own Dark Sun convention now, Athascon. Even the 4e version had a lot of support in the Dragon and Dungeon pdf's as well as a few official adventures.

If you're looking for good dark sun stuff it's already there. Don't wait for WotC to muck it up.

How many of them starting at low levels? How many were actually "good"? Having too many cooks for the soup is not always a good thing.

 

[Zardnaar]

How many of them starting at low levels? How many were actually "good"? Having too many cooks for the soup is not always a good thing.

Good Darksun adventures. Hmmn theyre around........0.

TSR was pushing those metaplot heavy railroaded ones back then.

 

[Reynard]

The problem is that D&D book/box set production is like 2 years, but video game production is 6 years. Hence why the BG3 tie-in came out with Early Release.

I really dislike this misconception.

Avernus is NOT a BG3 tie in adventure.

 

[Cergorach]

Is your take that they keep making Eberron because no one actually likes it? I don't know what you are trying to say here beyond that you, personally, don't care for it.

What I'm saying is that WotC did something new, and imho it wasn't the runaway success everyone expected. Two editions later it's just a core book and a future class expansion book. Compare to all the FR books that have been released, the old rehashed stuff that's most certainly not new. And D&D as a property is currently probably in the best place it has ever been (profit wise). TSR also did some 'new' things in it's later life, someone mentioned Jakandor, but we also saw things like Council of Wyrms, Tale of the Comet, I would even rank Birthright as something new TSR did. And then there were the plethora of Mystra sub-settings...

Some old things don't seem to work, but there's no guarantee that new things will work either.

And I've seen many a 'new' thing from third party publishers, and some of that is even very cool and interesting. But even cool and interesting doesn't mean it'll ever see the table... And that's amongst oodles and oodles of boring/uninteresting stuff, just as what happened with the D20 glut.

 

[JDazzle]

I think the main issue I see online is one of expectations... I often see people posting about how the new Planescape/Spelljammer/Dragonlance didn't add anything new or that it was a cashgrab or that it "violates the integrity of the world" (this one always makes me laugh, like nothing can ever evolve or that people can't just jettison what they don't like)

But for me, these types of products are literally just 5e conversion content... they are companions to the original adventures and settings, letting people easily pick up the old published products and use them in 5e!

I would love it if every revisit of old settings/campaigns was given the Curse of Strahd treatment but it's unrealistic especially when there aren't that many fans out there that support each setting... or if the draw of those settings is too niche to reach out to the casual majority of fans (you know, those that don't post online like us

Except, of course, Dragonlance... it was utter bs that they didn't rerelease the entire original DL campaign and give it a CoS treatment /s