D&D General Resolution Games and Wizards of the Coast Announce the First Official D&D Virtual Reality Game

Swedish video game company Resolution Games announced a licensing deal with Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast to create a virtual reality game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe. From the press release:

Resolution Games, creators of the award-winning digital fantasy tabletop adventure Demeo, has jointly announced a collaboration today with Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS), the leading toy and game company’s subsidiary, Wizards of the Coast, to create the world’s first virtual reality video game set in the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS universe.

“As anyone who’s played Demeo can guess, we’re incredibly huge fans of tabletop roleplaying games,” said Tommy Palm, founder and CEO of Resolution Games. “They have an unparalleled power to bring people together to create shared experiences, and that’s something we’ve tried to capture, too, with nearly every release in our library. DUNGEONS & DRAGONS offers one of the richest fantasy worlds that has ever been created, and it only gets bigger with every new sourcebook and adventure. We’re beyond humbled to have the opportunity to work with such an incredible IP and look forward to sharing the first details of this new project in the future.”

Following its 2021 release, Resolution Games’ Demeo garnered attention throughout the TTRPG world with its approachable blend of dungeon exploration and turn-based tactics with friends – which Palm reveals was firmly inspired by the team’s love for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. Both Demeo and the second game in the franchise, Demeo Battles, are playable on PC and in VR. Demeo is also available on the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR2.

“Resolution Games has a clear understanding of how to bring players together and capture the fun of tabletop gaming on digital platforms in an accessible way,” said Eugene Evans, SVP Digital Strategy and Licensing at Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro. “They are an ideal partner to bring a new DUNGEONS & DRAGONS video game to life in VR and beyond. Dungeons & Dragons and our other world class gaming brands continue to attract amazing partners as we execute our strategy to grow our digital games portfolio through licensing and internal development.”

No further details are available on the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons game nor is there any release window listed. The current big release from Resolution Games as stated above is Demeo and it’s PvP spinoff Demeo Battles. Those games are dungeon crawl fantasy games simulating the tabletop experience with figures that look like miniatures and a card-based action economy. The games can be played both in virtual reality and on a regular display.

Resolution Games points those seeking more information to the social media accounts for Demeo on Twitter and Facebook as well as their website demeogame.com.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

The videogame studios can risk to test new ideas and mechanics. A D&D videogame hasn't to be 100% 5e. Even BG3 needed some changes about the game rules.

I listen the videogame Palworld, that "Pokemon with firearms" is being sold very well. If Hasbro wanted a D&D version of Palworld/Pokemon, then I suggest to reuse the world of Ilkoria from Magic: the Gathering.

If there is a LEGO Fortnite... Why not a D&D Fornite? But Hasbro feared Epic Games created its own VTT.

* Hero Quest shouldn't be too difficult to be adapted to a free-to-play videogame for tablets. And if you buy the "packs" then these could be reused also in the D&D Beyond VTT.

 

[sevenbastard]

a lot of the weird licensing deals like boxer shorts with the D&D logo on them

I saw some boxers with a d20 that said "natural 1" over the crotch. Ouch, but also I could see a much less mature me buying that as a gag gift.

 

[Vincent55]

I prefer in-person play, no devices, just paper and pen and dice with your imagination, but as the DM a laptop with books open with references is faster than looking up or trying to memorize ever one. But for players no electronic sheets or such as they have one character and at the table need to focus on it not their phones.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

tbh, I'm waiting for the D&D AR game, where you can wander the actual streets in your actual real town and spot D&D monsters, and then decide if your character wants to fight them. This is similar to Pokemon Go. However, I'd take this to the next level - because it's D&D right?

You can meet up with friends, walk around your town to take on bigger badguys

You can join PVP squads and meet up with other parties and "battle" via the app combat mechanic

AI in the app would take any building you point your phone camera at and re-skin it to be "D&D/Forgotten Realms" -like.

You can take a selfie of yourself, and then use AI to change your looks to be the lineage you want and use that to represent you in the game

Also, WotC, if you want someone to lead this effort, look me up on LinkedIn, I'm the person with the BEHOLDER profile picture lol

 

[Micah Sweet]

If you are the marketing arm of WOTC that is exactly what you want. You want D&D to be the Rollerblades or Klenex. A instantly recognizable name that conjurs a very specific thing for consumers.

D&D has been slapping its name on video games with no connection to the actual rules for years. The old Intelivission ones, the 90s arcade beat up ups, some modern mobile games. All to build a brands (and make licensing money).

I am so happy I'm not the marketing arm of WotC. No doubt I wouldn't pass their 3 month performance review!

 

[Micah Sweet]

I'm pretty sure VR D&D looks like a virtual table, with virtual friends, rolling dice and still having to imagine the game world. But Matt Mercer is there.

But is it a virtual Matt Mercer? I'm sure we have enough video of the man to do a passable job at this point.

 

[SteveC]

There's a version of Demeo that isn't VR and I have it from Steam. It's ... okay. It looks really nice but the gameplay (in my opinion, of course) is just meh. But it does look great.

 

[Stormonu]

Thinking about it, since they're partnering with the Demeo team, this may be where they're intending to take the 3D VTT. As @SteveC mentions, there's a version of Demeo that doesn't require VR so for the D&D version there may be some cross-play between VR & non-VR players. They might be able to use the Demeo skeleton pull in the D&D visual assets, though they'd have to recode any gameplay.

I will say VR takes flat gameplay and give it a jolt with the ability to see and interact with it in 3D. Things like Tabletop Simulator and Demeo do the "sitting around a virtual table with your friends" very well.

However, I'd like to see something more akin to Skyrim/Dungeons of Eternity/Elvin Assassin where you're up and about swing a sword, throwing a spell or shooting a bow*.

* Back in the '80s, after school my brother and I would spend our time perforating imaginary orcs (archery targets) with our 20# bows in the back yard, so first time I fired up Elvin Assassin, I was grinning from ear to ear for an hour as my (21-year-old) son kept asking "how did you make that shot!?!" and best of all "stop stealing my kill!"

 

[Superchunk77]

Possibly, but I wouldn't expect it anytime soon. For one, they haven't updated Dark Sun for 5e yet and don't seem to be in any big rush to do that. For another, that is a setting that needs a major overhaul before WotC would publish it or associate it with the modern brand. Way too much problematic baggage that would need to be rewritten from the ground up with cultural consultants on board at the start. And WotC doesn't like doing hard retcons like that. They prefer soft retcons like "Oh, there was another culture of good drow in Faerun the entire time so it's not just the Always Evil Menzoberranzan...they, umm, just went to another school. In Canada. With my really hot model girlfriend" to just declaring former material non-canon. No matter how badly they need to do precisely that.

Dark Sun will NEVER see a 5e release. Nor does it need an overhaul. WotC could use one though.

 

[Clint_L]

I'm pretty sure VR D&D looks like a virtual table, with virtual friends, rolling dice and still having to imagine the game world. But Matt Mercer is there.

I'm sold!