Taylor Navarro Joins Wizards of the Coast as D&D Designer

Wizards of the Coast has hired yet another D&D game designer - this time UK-based designer Taylor Navarro. Navarro announced that she was joining the D&D team this week on BlueSky. Navarro notably was a winner of the Diana Jones Emerging Designer Award back in 2024 and has worked for Ghostfire Gaming and Evil Hat in addition to working on several DMs Guild projects. Some of her most notable works was contributing to the DMs Guild publication Journeys Beyond the Radiant Citadel and publishing Not Yet: A Romantic Duet TTRPG.

Navarro is the fourth D&D game designer to join Wizards of the Coast in recent weeks, with James Haeck, Leon Barillaro, and Erin Roberts also announcing that they've joined D&D in a similar game designer capacity. Additionally, Justice Ramin Arman was promoted to Game Design Director of the group.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

I don't think anyone here has the receipts, so I'm incredibly reluctant to engage on the topic of 5.5E's performance.

But the personnel turnover we (appear) to be seeing can be interpreted in many ways. For example, it's equally valid to interpret it this way:

Hasbro, like every toy company in the US, is underperforming and laid of 20% of its workforce in 2025. (Here's an article.) Those layoffs probably hit every single part of the company, even those that were not underperforming. Like WotC.

Now, in 2026, it appears new headcount is opening up on the D&D team. That might be because the business hit its revenue targets.

A "fire this year, hire next year" mentality is unfortunately common in corporate America.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

I do NOT say it underperformed, not even in the post you quoted. I said that IF it did, it would make sense to change up the creative team. That was in response to a post that suggested such a move would make no sense.

My post didn't suggest such a move would make no sense. That would be a far more thoughtful post than what I wrote. I was just making fun of the internet.

 

[Scribe]

Now, in 2026, it appears new headcount is opening up on the D&D team. That might be because the business hit its revenue targets.

Fire or 'wouldnt you like to retire' the top end, hire new people at a fraction of the wage.

 

[dave2008]

I was not especially clear. My fault.

Well, once I knew your intent it became very clear!

 

[Chaltab]

She won an award for her writing.

It's not a socialist utopia and there is in fact adventure capable both in the Citadel itself (per the book) and obviously in the founding nations.
A simple reading of the book makes these things clear.

You expect people to actually read the things they have a negative opinion of? Absurd.

 

[EthanSental]

This type of thread gets irritating to me…we should be celebrating a hire for a talented designer, and the same posters drag it down (many I have on ignore by looking at the posts I’m missing)…then the same posters in other threads for the game they like start the thread by saying - keep it positive.

So I’ll celebrate her and others hired by Wotc and look forward to what they create for us to enjoy in some way shape of form!

 

[Zardnaar]

You expect people to actually read the things they have a negative opinion of? Absurd.

I own and read radiant Citadel. Its not very good. There's worse though adventure wise. HotDQ, OotA, Strixhaven possibly Candlekeep.

Probably the few I haven't bought.

A few mediocre ones are ok as sourcebooks eg PotA, DiA.

 

[Charlaquin]

Just putting this out there: there is a certain school of thought that says you can’t know if you like a piece of media unless you’ve consumed it in its entirety, and I am very much not in agreement with that school of thought. If you read reviews of a D&D book, or skimmed a few pages of a display copy at your LGS and what you read didn’t really interest you, that is fine and valid. You don’t have to buy and read the whole book before you’re qualified to have an opinion on it. But, if you’re going to judge every person credited on the book (or in this case a completely different book that happens to concern the same setting), you should probably make sure that the things you dislike so strongly about the book… are actually… you know, true.

 

[Youshang]

I think it's good for D&D as a brand to have all these young, talented hires joining it's team. They're much more likely to know what the younger audience expects from the game and fresh blood is the only thing that keeps this hobby alive and evolving, innovating, iterating... For my part, I have decades of literature to draw on(and piles of unread books). So I'm fine but also beyond curious what the new team is gonna do. Exciting times, imho, for D&D.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Radiant Citadel doesnt have a great reputation. Its a bit pants compared to the other anthologies even ones near its release eg Golden Vault or Infinite Staircase.

I actually liked it more then either of those. Bonus I got the D&D Beyond Version free for one of their give aways.