WotC WotC Winter 2026 D&D Community Survey

[Remathilis]

My best guess is that 5.5 won't do as well as 5.0

Every 6e timeline is predicated on this "fact". I don't think the difference in sales in 5.5 and 5.0 are going to be different enough that WotC drops everything to work on 6e. Why would they? Announcing a new core only three years after the last ones came out would a.) kill two years of potential sales during the playtest and b.) probably drive off more people who just upgraded while smugly vindicating those who didn't buy 5.5 and wouldn't buy 6e either. And the ground work for a 6e needs to be laid down NOW, not in two years. Which means this would be the only year anything innovative would even be released. WotC hasn't even had time to innovate in 5.5 before your making them do 6e.

If your intended goal is to kill D&D and let Pathfinder control the ttrpg market for the next decade, your plan is a good one. But if you have any desire to have D&D be a nostalgia brand in the next TV show, you don't even say the word 6e until 2029 and then give it a few years internal to bubble until you announce the playtest in 2032.

 

[Vael]

Admittedly, my view of WoTC itself is fairly neutral, but its parent Hasbro? That's where I view a lot of the pressure to maximize profits as coming from. It's impacted my view of both DnD and MTG

 

[Artamo]

Admittedly, my view of WoTC itself is fairly neutral, but its parent Hasbro? That's where I view a lot of the pressure to maximize profits as coming from. It's impacted my view of both DnD and MTG

And I think that’s where I’m at - primarily neutral on the product. I haven’t played in a year, but would again if we came back around as a group to it. Regarding the company as a whole, I’m slightly negative but not so negative that I wouldn’t buy their stuff.

 

[Stalker0]

Are you under the impression that 5.5e was not playtested?

I think its more of a question of "where did the playtest feedback go"?

You are correct that there were several things that got ravamped during the playtest. And then other things that were left broken or even made broken.

The stealth rules are to me the number 1 culprit. The old stealth rules were bad, the ones are decidedly worse. We tested them, gave them tons of feedback....and they were not changed.

Power balance I can actually forgive more, because I respect "balance" is a very nebulous concept in dnd. But when you have core subsystems that as bad as the stealth rules that tells me something was missed between playtesting and finalizing of the game.

 

[OB1]

I was generally positive but did ask for clarification on the recent decision to call 2024 5.5 and if they are still committed to evergreen 5e. That is, evolution and refreshing rather than revolution for whatever comes after 2024.

 

[Parmandur]

I think its more of a question of "where did the playtest feedback go"?

You are correct that there were several things that got ravamped during the playtest. And then other things that were left broken or even made broken.

The stealth rules are to me the number 1 culprit. The old stealth rules were bad, the ones are decidedly worse. We tested them, gave them tons of feedback....and they were not changed.

Power balance I can actually forgive more, because I respect "balance" is a very nebulous concept in dnd. But when you have core subsystems that as bad as the stealth rules that tells me something was missed between playtesting and finalizing of the game.

I mean, just because some people feel one way about something doesn't mean that is going to be the only feedback they get.

 

[Lanefan]

I mean, just because some people feel one way about something doesn't mean that is going to be the only feedback they get.

If the feedback just goes into a black hole there's no way of knowing what they got, even in general terms.

Every 6e timeline is predicated on this "fact". I don't think the difference in sales in 5.5 and 5.0 are going to be different enough that WotC drops everything to work on 6e. Why would they? Announcing a new core only three years after the last ones came out would a.) kill two years of potential sales during the playtest and b.) probably drive off more people who just upgraded while smugly vindicating those who didn't buy 5.5 and wouldn't buy 6e either. And the ground work for a 6e needs to be laid down NOW, not in two years. Which means this would be the only year anything innovative would even be released. WotC hasn't even had time to innovate in 5.5 before your making them do 6e.

You're misreading my projected timeline, I think.

First off, they can work on 5.5e up front and mull over 6e behind the scenes at the same time.

Second off, in my prediction 2029 - probably late in the year - is the soft-announce date for 6e, which is five-plus years after 5.5e dropped, not three. Hell, they might not even formally announce it then, instead just throwing some of their ideas out there for initial feedback to see if they're on anything close to the right track.

After that, a year or more of playtesting (ideally, with feedback made somewhat public), followed by a few months of tidying up and production, for release at GenCon 2031.

If your intended goal is to kill D&D and let Pathfinder control the ttrpg market for the next decade, your plan is a good one. But if you have any desire to have D&D be a nostalgia brand in the next TV show, you don't even say the word 6e until 2029 and then give it a few years internal to bubble until you announce the playtest in 2032.

We almost agree, then - 2029 announce and 2031 release is what I've been saying all along.

Edit: misread what you wrote in terms of dates. They should, if they're any good at all at long-range planning, be at least thinking about 6e and even 7e right now, in terms of "where are we going to be in 10, 15, 20 years?".

 

[Parmandur]

If the feedback just goes into a black hole there's no way of knowing what they got, even in general terms.

It wasn't a black hole, they regularly made changes and said that what wasn't being changed was well received.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Let's say a player wants to hire noble LG Paladins to be his Bastion's army - he does, it's his thing.
Then that player proceeds to slaughter Village of Women and Children, Edmonton, pee on the king and kidnapps his daughter, then runs off to hide in the bastion.

This has literally never happened.

 

[Remathilis]

econd off, in my prediction 2029 - probably late in the year - is the soft-announce date for 6e, which is five-plus years after 5.5e dropped, not three. Hell, they might not even formally announce it then, instead just throwing some of their ideas out there for initial feedback to see if they're on anything close to the right track.

The issue is the minute you announce the playtest for 6e, 5/5.5 is a lame duck. You will sell NOTHING but either edition-neutral products or short adventures. You announce the playtest on December 31st, 2029 and D&D 5e dies January 1st, 2030. Your sales drop off the cliff. You D&D Beyond Subscriptions start to expire. One D&D only was able to survive the playtest sales slump on the promise of Backwards Compatiblity calmed nerves. That trick isn't gonna work twice. You will either need to make 6e just 5.75 OR you will have to be willing you are starting from scratch on building the fanbase. I imagine WotC will want to do that later rather than sooner.