D&D 5E (2024) D&D Beyond's Development Roadmap Is A Complete Rebuild Of Platform

D&D Beyond has announced its roadmap for the future, including features in active development and those planned for later down the line. These include a full rebuild of the game platform's engine, a new character builder, tools for Dungeon Masters, and more.

Over the past few months, we’ve launched a new homepage, a revamped and more sortable content library, image reveals in the Maps VTT to help DMs immerse their players more easily, and several other quality-of-life improvements.

2026 is a year of refocusing and rebuilding D&D Beyond to make it easier to play D&D your way. Three major initiatives will drive most of our work:

• Rebuilding D&D Beyond’s Game Platform
• Improving Player Onboarding and Revamping the Character Builder Experience
• Launching a Suite of Dungeon Master Tools

 

[GarrettKP]

I'd tell you, but then I'd have to... oh, you know the drill!

Totally fair! Glad to know there is movement on the announcement end either way! Looking forward to the release.

 

[Junkyard Tornado]

Also, I would love a toggle that would let me decide that when I'm running a 2014 adventure using DDB, as I did the other day, when I click on a link for a monster or a spell or a magic item, I can go to the 2024 versions of instead. Otherwise, I need to stop, and do a manual search for the new version, which means I didn't actually save any time using the link.

And the further we get from the publication of the 2024 rulebooks, the more these links in legacy adventures will be outdated. I own the 2014 books, but what happens when someone tries running an adventure from Journeys Beyond the Radiant Citadel and does not? Do they get told to buy an outdated version of the Monster Manual, despite owning the 2024 one?

Access to 2014 rules is a big one for me. I don't use DDB but everyone else at my 5e table does. We have a mix of characters that are 2014 and 2024. The game is mostly run 2014 because we're usingv an adventure from then but the DM uses the 2024 MM sometimes.

This update seems like a prime opportunity for them to just try to move on from 2014 and I think that would be a mistake. People want both.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

There is a pretty big difference between saying that you 'need' to do something and that you 'are' doing something.

Okay, I'll clarify, you want to hammer on semantics.

They did say that they were doing it. Not just that they needed to.

And the WotC DDB team has been absolutely excellent in developing Maps so far so much so that it's success killed the Sigle 3DVTT.

That... is not what killed the 3D VTT.

Not even slightly. It died because it's fundamentally quite hard to do, and would require a decent-size team of properly-funded and lead developers, especially as it's basically novel, and there's no real roadmap for a what a successful 3D VTT looks like. Seems like either they didn't have all of those elements, or decided that it was too expensive to do "properly-funded" and "decently-sized".

Whereas maps is just an inferior and more limited version of something offered by many other companies, and which has existed in full and functional forms for literally decades at this point. Certainly when the 3D VTT died maps was not impressive tool, either.

I think the group they've got developing this site deserves the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

Yeah I don't find your reasoning compelling here, given it's outright wrong in the one example you gave.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

This update seems like a prime opportunity for them to just try to move on from 2014 and I think that would be a mistake. People want both.

I agree, that would be a terrible decision and a major self-own of the sort WotC has clearly been trying very hard to avoid recently.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Access to 2014 rules is a big one for me. I don't use DDB but everyone else at my 5e table does. We have a mix of characters that are 2014 and 2024. The game is mostly run 2014 because we're usingv an adventure from then but the DM uses the 2024 MM sometimes.

This update seems like a prime opportunity for them to just try to move on from 2014 and I think that would be a mistake. People want both.

I definitely hope they make it easier to hide all legacy material, but yeah they should keep it all available.

 

[plecostomus]

Here's a few answers I noticed from this one:

1. Is homebrewing going to be updated/made easier to do?
   We’re first focusing on the Game Platform rebuild, which will unlock greater customization. We definitely intend to make homebrew easier. It’s too early to talk about when and how we’ll support new functionality. What I will say is we’re going to focus on the most common homebrew use cases first, like monsters and magic items.
   ---
   Better homebrewing is a bit of a longer-term project because it requires us to get through the Game Platform rebuild first. Then we’ll work on extending the new creation tools we use internally to homebrewing over time.
   
   my note: Many questions about homebrew and character builder bugs in the AMA. In general, the answer is "Wait for the Game Platform rebuild". See #2 also.
   
   
2. What are examples of features that cannot be implemented until after the Game Platform rebuild?
   I asked the team to give me a list of their top pain points and got quite the list back. Here are just a few things that are near impossible to implement today that will be possible with the rebuild.
   • Monsters or Stat Blocks that scale with your character level (for example, the Draconic Spirit from the Summon Dragon spell, or sidekicks from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything)
   • Using Hit Dice as an expendable resource (like with the Durable feat)
   • Giving Magic Items actions. For example, today, you can't roll the additional Fire damage for a Flame Tongue weapon
   • Having conditions work in the character sheet
   • A lot of UX-based things, such as being able to expend a spell slot to recharge a feature
   • The Aberrant Mind and Clockwork Soul's level 1 feature from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
   • Charms/Blessings
   • Content that meaningfully deviate from the D&D 5E core rules in a non-trivial way
   • Minimum dice values (like with a Rogue's Reliable Talent feature)
   • Wider Eldritch Invocation support (like being able to target spells that aren't Eldritch Blast with Agonizing Blast)
     
     The list goes on. I’m stopping here to keep it from becoming a novel.
     
     
     
3. Will the Encounter Builder be updated?
   Yes! I love the Encounter Builder tool. Under the hood, it is very old, archaic, and fragile, which has made it very difficult to update and enhance. It definitely needs a lot of love.
   
   The Encounter Builder does a lot of things really well, and a few things not so well. Meanwhile, the Encounter Manager in Maps does some things really well, and some things not so well.
   
   On my list of things to do is to revisit both the Encounters Builder, and the Encounter Manager in Maps, and see what we can do to improve both. This improvement will be part of our evolution of Maps to be a tool that you can run with players as a VTT, or by yourself as a game management platform with a suite of DM Prep tools.
   
   That being said - I have absolutely heard that not everyone wants to use a full-on VTT. As we get closer to looking at the Encounter Builder, I intend to do a full-on listening tour to understand all the ways people use this tool and to make sure we’re able to continue to support DMs.
   
   
   
4. Can you add dynamic lighting, walls, etc.? (advanced VTT map features)
   As I’ve said elsewhere in this AMA, our product philosophy is “Honda Accord, not F-16.” We want anyone to be able to sit down and immediately understand how to play, instead of being overwhelmed by a dashboard of a thousand knobs and switches.
   
   Dynamic lighting is tricky. The effect can be very cool and save a lot of time, but in my research people also say its time consuming to set up and it’s very fragile. That’s not really in line with our philosophy, so we haven’t done it yet.
   
   We have prototyped a few versions of what the Maps version of this could look like, but we haven’t quite gotten to what feels like the right answer for us yet. If and when we do, we’ll happily release it!
   ---
   In terms of specific Quality of Life features like height indicators – we're constantly reviewing these sorts of suggestions from the community (and from our own games!) and prioritizing it against other things we could be working on, how many people would benefit from this, the complexity of adding the feature, and the UX complexity it adds to using Maps.
   
   Our product design philosophy is “Honda Accord, not F-16." We want anyone to be able to sit down in front of Maps and immediately know how to use it - not be faced with a massive control panel of switches and dials and get overwhelmed at all the options. We have invested a lot into design, and are continuing to invest a lot into design (check out our careers page!, because we want D&D Beyond and Maps to be the easiest place for people to play D&D.
   
   
   
5. Can you make it easier to display graphics and video and set the scene in Maps?
   As far as importing graphics - in December we launched Reveals, which is full of over 9000 images from across over 100 of our books, making it easy to show players the official art from any campaign you own.
   
   Then in February, we launched Monster Reveals, which lets the DM reveal the full sized monster art to players, straight from the monster token.
   
   Then last week, we announced in our roadmap we're going to soon start working on Custom Upload Stickers and Reveals, which will let DMs upload their own art into those systems.
   
   As an aside, some very clever users on r/dndbeyond pointed out you can make a Homebrew monster and upload any art you want, then use Monster Reveals to show it to players. I didn't even think about that as we built it, but it's a very clever hack to achieve that functionality while we're building out the official path.
   
   
   
6. Will you add more 3rd Party classes, such as those from Mage Hand Press?
   Certainly in consideration. We need to be choosier with what new classes we support until we are further through our Game Platform rebuild.
   
   
7. Will it be possible to export character sheets onto a 2024 PDF template instead of 2014?
   Something in consideration. This is something we’ll have to look at once we get through our Game Platform rebuild, as its tied up in that.
   
   
   
8. Will there be non-3rd-Party releases in 2026 (supplements/adventures)?
   Yes! The D&D studio will be announcing their content lineup soon.
   
   
   
9. Have you considered make a subscription tier with more content sharing for professional DMs?
   We have seen this from a few professional DMs that want to be able to share their content with more than 12 players and 5 campaigns. Offering another tier for professional DMs is something we’ve certainly considered.
   
   
10. How do you perform UX and user research?
    We have a fantastic recent hire to the team, Kevin, now leading our UX design efforts. Also right now, Kevin is hiring 3 full-time and 1 contract UX design roles (if you know anyone, check out careers.wizards.com and search for D&D Beyond). In terms of UX research, we now work with a research firm to test early concepts with players. The Character Quickbuilder coming in March is the first project to utilize the full UX research process. Kevin will talk more about this when we release it.
    ---
    I’ll follow up to Brian’s answer above with my own specific example. For a very large upcoming initiative focused on DM tooling, last Fall I went out and interviewed 54 DMs for between 30-60 minutes. Some virtually, some in person at PAX Unplugged, some through other channels. Initially, these conversations started by me asking “Tell me about how you DM.” and then we went from there.
    
    I synthesized all my research notes, and used the Jobs to be Done framework to identify some common problems. Then we brainstormed several products that would address those Jobs to be Done. Then we dug into the design work and UX testing!
    
    
    
11. Will we be able to randomly generate characters?
    It depends on how deep you expect random generation to go. The new Character Quickbuilder coming in March will give you the option to randomly generate your Class, Species, and Background choices.
    
    
    
12. Can you add chat to Maps?
    Right now, we've found that many people who are playing remotely are already using things like Discord for text, voice, and video chat. There are whole companies who specialize in live communication, and there's tons of features they add that elevate that experience.
    
    We're in the business of building play tools for D&D, and are a bit hesitant to move so far outside of our core domain. If there's enough demand, we'd consider it, but so far most players I've talked to seem pretty happy to keep using things like Discord.
    
    
    
13. Can you add a log sheet for Adventure League/Legends of Greyhawk games?
    Nothing to announce here yet, but we have been talking with Baldman Games about what support they would like to see on D&D Beyond in the future for organized play like Legends of Greyhawk.
    
    
    
14. Will there be support for 2024 Custom Backgrounds?
    We do plan to make this easier to do after the Game Platform rebuild. The current platform makes this quite hard.
    
    
    
15. Will DMs be able to black/whitelist Species, Feats, Magic Items, etc.?
    Definitely a long-time top request we are looking into!
    
    
    
16. Can favorited items in My Library be added to the main menu?
    Our new navigation is intended to address exactly this – more details soon!
    
    
    
17. What is coming with the new DM Prep features mentioned on the roadmap?
    The first in this line of features is actually Journals, a way for DMs and Players to record what happened during the session, then reference those journal entries later (like... during prep. Or to answer the inevitable "So.... who remembers what happened last session?" question).
    
    There's a few more features we're working on that we're keeping a little closer to the vest as we test and prototype them, but as we get a little closer we'll be sharing more.
    
    
    
18. Will we be able to use 2014 partner content for 2024 characters, or is it still based on the partner updating it?
    Keep an eye on our changelog later this week
    
    
    
19. Is there a way to add physical books I bought to Beyond?
    Not right now. We have a D&D Beyond coupon pilot program at a few local game stores right now with physical purchases. But there are a lot of learnings and logistics the team has to figure out with this small trial before we announce or roll out anything more broadly.
    
    
    
20. Will items ever be offered a-la-carte again?
    We’re not bringing back a-la-carte exactly as it was before. Checking 10,000+ entitlements was starting to slow down the system. We are planning to offer smaller packages of gameplay in the future. These initial offerings will be geared towards newer players and players who don’t have as much of a collection of character options.
    
    
    
21. Why are there no solid dates established on the roadmap?
    We’d be changing the date estimates too frequently if we tried to give ones. Our goal is to release every feature as soon as possible once we can verify it hits a quality bar. Unforeseen issues can crop up, the team can get through something faster than expected, testing can bring up a critical bug near the end, and the list goes on. What I will say is within just the next few months you’ll see us release several more items in the “Now” category. Just like we released 3D dice rolling in Maps yesterday.
    
    
22. "Any plan for solo player? Do you think about an AI dungeon master so we will be able to use all the digital book we have to play adventure with an AI dungeon master, it could help a ton of people to play when you don’t have people around you able to play with "
    Do you think about an AI dungeon master? No.
    Any plans for solo play? It depends on what solo play means to you. Would love to hear more.
    
    
    
23. Is AI going to be used in the Game Platform rebuild?
    We are not replacing human developers with AI. We have great teams in place leading all of our efforts.

 

[bedir than]

our product philosophy is “Honda Accord, not F-16.”

I love this. The bells & whistles VTTs don't enhance my relationship with my players. They can help the game, but not the feeling of community that a lightweight version centering the people does.

 

[Zaukrie]

Lots of answers that make sense!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

sidekicks from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Someone call 911; I think I'm having a heart attack.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Smart choices on not getting out of their lane and duplicating Discord or chat functionality.

On the solo play, I think there's a big opportunity in non-AI solo play, in the style of Fighting Fantasy games. Obvious Mimic Press has a bunch of 5E modules that work this way, and it'd be a way to sell to all the folks who say they're not getting enough D&D play in their lives. (Heck, I get plenty of D&D play, and I'd still buy solo modules.)

There was an experiment with a Choose Your Own Adventure style game to tease a previous product (Dragonlance, maybe?). I wonder how popular that was and if WotC tracks how well content does on its site.