Dungeons & Dragons Will Announce New Products at Gen Con, Modules Returning to Game

Wizards of the Coast plans to use Gen Con as a launching point for future products. During a press briefing at Gary Con on Thursday, Head of D&D Franchise Dan Ayoub said that they would be announcing the product tied to the Season of Champions at Gen Con this year. Additionally, starting at Gen Con in 2026, D&D will also announce the roadmap for the upcoming year at the convention, which will include announcements of upcoming Seasons, announcement of new products, and other "stuff" tied to the season.

Ayoub told the press briefing that early feedback for the seasons have been "fantastic," so it appears that this will be the standard moving forward.

Later in the press briefing, Ayoub noted that the lengthy delay in announcements was due to a combination of internal reorganization for the D&D team and a shift in which products would be released in 2026. He also said that adventure modules will be returning to Dungeons & Dragons as part of the new Season models, although it's unclear whether this will be through the D&D Encounters program, Adventurer's League, or through some other kind of unannounced product.

 

[WhatTheEyeSees]

Is there anything Romantic (modern) about Birthright?

It has supernatural nobility involved in political intrigue so it feels like it has the ingredients to make this work.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

It's absence from the schedule doesn't imply it being moved back a year, only a month or two. It was never going to come out April 2026!

I just meant from 2026 to 2027 not twelve months!

 

[FitzTheRuke]

30 pages, soft cover. $20 is more than reasonable - for both sides. Printing costs for WotC, provided they mass produce is probably between $2 - $5. Salaries are so variable, that it is impossible to speculate. But once shipping is factored in, I can't imagine it's more than $10-$12. So $15 cost to stores.

Seems high to me. You can still get a comic book for $4-$5 at 20 pages, 40+ pages magazine-sized for $8-$10. But I would be surprised if WotC would price one under $15 retail. We shouldn't be paying shipping on them individually, after all.

And here is the important part, let the gaming stores make more money on these than WotC does. They need to start building bridges back into the community, in particularly gaming stores.

That would be nice! Seems unlikely to me, though.

This is just my opinion, but I have watched the RPG section shrink in every single gaming store for the past fifteen years. From books to minis to maps to supplements. The area keeps shrinking. This is something I have noticed in Illinois, Virginia, and Washington.

I have NOT seen anything like that, myself. My store's game section keeps growing.

I could be wrong, and there is someone here who actually owns a game store that could correct me or bring more insight. But, that is what I've seen. And for modules to work, they need to be in game stores, not just online.

Depends on what you mean by "work". I certainly agree with you that they'd mean much less to ME if they're not in my store, but things can be mighty successful "online" these days. The smartest money is, of course, to be available both ways.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Birthright can allow romantasy in the same way the classic Dragonlance novels have got some pieces of romance. It is about noble houses with special mystical powers. Of course we could need a lot of playtesting and feedback, even if the main goal is a strategy videogame.


And for the current standars Birthright sounds like a lot of "Games of Thrones" vibes. And if a little retcon was necessary we could say the Cerilian Feywild is linked to the plane of Eldraine(Magic: the Gathering).


For Romantasy we don't need a lot of budget for FXs but a good story with interesting characters. It also allows space for the comedy, for example the coexistence of a metrosexual male half-elf ranger and a tomboy half-orc female barbarian where they have to learn to solve conflicts by means of social skills.

My suggestion is to combine more one couple with some touch of sorority and girl-squad. This would be according to D&D essence.

* Other point we should talk is about if "fictiotopias" should become canon and official and D&D multiverse. Fictiotopias are "demiplanes" created to make some fictional universe real, for example the module "Dungeonland". To explain it better with one example a fictiotopia would be Jack Slater's Los Angeles from the 1993 action-comedy movie "the last Action Hero". Other example of fictiotopia would be the 1998 movie "Pleasantville"

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I just meant from 2026 to 2027 not twelve months!

The level of denial suggests that at least some people think that if its not “champions” it must be 12 months!

 

[dudelsack]

Fallout TV series seems to do just fine, we have Dune 3 on the way. Ravenloft remains popular. There is still a demand for grimdark.

Different people like different stuff. Dragonlance provides a good contrast to Dark Sun.

Of course the problem with Romantacy is the sex. You can put all the dragonriders and fairies you like into D&D, but try to rulify sex?! That needs to be left to individual tables.

(Daggerheart may be better for a game focused on interpersonal relationships.)

That stuff isn't grimdark at all tho. And the problem with romantasy isn't the sex at all. It's the fetishization of things like racism and abuse that is the problem with romantasy.

 

[Scott Christian]

Seems high to me. You can still get a comic book for $4-$5 at 20 pages, 40+ pages magazine-sized for $8-$10. But I would be surprised if WotC would price one under $15 retail. We shouldn't be paying shipping on them individually, after all.

I think the amount of people on the project might differ though. At least that was my thinking.

That would be nice! Seems unlikely to me, though.

Seems unlikely to me too.

I have NOT seen anything like that, myself. My store's game section keeps growing.

That is fantastic news! I am so happy to hear that. Maybe what I am experiencing is just an anomaly.

Depends on what you mean by "work". I certainly agree with you that they'd mean much less to ME if they're not in my store, but things can be mighty successful "online" these days. The smartest money is, of course, to be available both ways.

Agreed. And that is what I meant. Of course it should be online too, but it sure would be nice to have these available in stores for everyone to see.

 

[dudelsack]

Fallout TV series seems to do just fine, we have Dune 3 on the way. Ravenloft remains popular. There is still a demand for grimdark.

Different people like different stuff. Dragonlance provides a good contrast to Dark Sun.

Of course the problem with Romantacy is the sex. You can put all the dragonriders and fairies you like into D&D, but try to rulify sex?! That needs to be left to individual tables.

(Daggerheart may be better for a game focused on interpersonal relationships.)

Of course genre is nebulous, but that stuff isn't remotely considered grimdark at all tho. Fallout is post-apocalyptic retrofuturism, Dune is scifi, and Ravenloft is horror/dark fantasy. And the problem with romantasy isn't the sex at all. It's the fetishization of things like racism and abuse that is the problem with romantasy.

 

[dudelsack]

I know this is a typo, but "Grimdank" would 100% be a big hit on Kickstarter.

Black light poster fantasy, cannabis culture forward, etc.

IIRC grimdank is actually a subreddit haha

 

[Parmandur]

Seems high to me. You can still get a comic book for $4-$5 at 20 pages, 40+ pages magazine-sized for $8-$10. But I would be surprised if WotC would price one under $15 retail. We shouldn't be paying shipping on them individually, after all.

Big issue is going to be the difference in development costs.

Just comparing old TSR module prices with inflation, they were selling then for current ~$30 USD.