D&D 5E (2024) When are we getting announcements for 2026 books?

[DavyGreenwind]

For sure, though Curse of Strahd is probably one of the least stingy of the Perkins Oeuvre.

I also think they might do a Strahd 10-year anniversary reprint.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

My brother-in-law ran it for us as a full on Comedy, which the text encourages, and as Pratchett-esque parody of Wrekend in Hell? Fantastic.

I’m sure it can be run well (even played straight), and it may also be that it is (possibly) the most played 5e adventure that is is also the most “I had a bad experience” adventure.

 

[sevenbastard]

I also think they might do a Strahd 10-year anniversary reprint.

I think it is inevitable. They have ten years of feedback to fix and modify it, and they know it will sell. That said, they messed up the redo of Lost Mines so maybe for the best if they don't.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I think it is inevitable. They have ten years of feedback to fix and modify it, and they know it will sell. That said, they messed up the redo of Lost Mines so maybe for the best if they don't.

I would rather have something new than endlessly recycling the same 40 year old adventure. Pretty much everyone must have read or played it by now, so it has no capacity to surprise.

 

[Remathilis]

I think it is inevitable. They have ten years of feedback to fix and modify it, and they know it will sell. That said, they messed up the redo of Lost Mines so maybe for the best if they don't.

I would much prefer a new expansion or a second module (I got real excited when someone suggested a possible Mordenheim based adventure). CoS already got two glow ups (one from B&G, one from WotC itself) so do something new.

 

[Remathilis]

Dark Sun's not coming.

After releasing only two books from January through August, the end of this year is very release-heavy for official D&D. They have to sell two boxed Starter Sets (mid Sep & early Oct), the two Forgotten Realms books (both releasing Nov 11th), and Eberron: Forge of the Artificer (early December).

That's two boxed sets and three hardcovers all releasing between Sep 16 - Dec 5, 2025, with just weeks between each release. That's already too many books to market effectively; I can understand them not trying to also put focus on MORE stuff coming after that.

I took it that the core 3 were an "all hands on deck" scenario and the downtime between the MM (which was going to be a 2024 book) and Dragon Delves was mostly for retooling the team to pick up new projects. Moving the August book to December stings, and it makes 2025 bottom heavy. That said, I suspect 2026 will be a better return to form with a early spring, a summer, and a fall/holiday release window.

Then again, I can recall the days when we found out about new 5e books from silent Amazon listings a few months before release. Having a year's worth announcement was a treat.

 

[Parmandur]

I also think they might do a Strahd 10-year anniversary reprint.

Maybe, though it is still in print.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think the expectation that we will endlessly recycle the same handful of TSR adventures (I mean, no one is asking for reboots of Gargoyle or The Four Shall Be as One) is pretty unhealthy.

That said, a Strahd re-release seems inevitable, will definitely sell and is one of the least objectionable choices, so long as WotC takes an exceptionally light touch on updates.

I would rather see them work on new adventures, though, alternating long adventures ideally written by one person or a very small team, to limit the weird disconnects between chapters we've seen in many recent adventures; or anthologies, ideally with at least one adventure connecting to the home base, which Saltmarsh, the Radiant Citadel or Candlekeep didn't do.

 

[Kurotowa]

So here's a highly speculative train of thought...

We've had several UA releases for unannounced books at this point; the Psion, Horror subclasses, and Arcane subclasses. People have been expecting another, because there's a big obvious gap of zero Barbarian or Druid subclasses in this set. However nothing has come out yet. So when have UA releases been delayed in the past? When they couldn't be scrubbed of spoilers for an unannounced book. My recollection is that we've seen UA releases held back until after they make the official product announcement, then immediately dropped.

Which may mean that the next UA has those sort of unavoidable tells, which hints at what sort of book it might be for. And if the 2026 product slate gets announced in two weeks at PAX West, we may see the delayed UA drop the week after.

 

[Burnside]

I think the expectation that we will endlessly recycle the same handful of TSR adventures (I mean, no one is asking for reboots of Gargoyle or The Four Shall Be as One) is pretty unhealthy.

That said, a Strahd re-release seems inevitable, will definitely sell and is one of the least objectionable choices, so long as WotC takes an exceptionally light touch on updates.

I would rather see them work on new adventures, though, alternating long adventures ideally written by one person or a very small team, to limit the weird disconnects between chapters we've seen in many recent adventures; or anthologies, ideally with at least one adventure connecting to the home base, which Saltmarsh, the Radiant Citadel or Candlekeep didn't do.

I agree we're gonna get another iteration of Strahd & Ravenloft for 5.5, but we're still too close to Curse of Strahd ReVamped (2020) and Van Richten's Guide (2021) to circle back just yet. We'll get it before 2030, but not in 2026.

I wonder if WotC has decided to move away from the campaign-length hardcover adventures that kinda defined 2014-2023 5E (and often took years to complete). I have mixed feelings about them; certainly they didn't reflect the way a lot of folks want to (or do) play D&D. Nonetheless, some of them were really good...and I'm not sure anybody but Perkins can really deliver consistently good long adventures in that style.

We didn't get one this year, and haven't had one since Vecna: Eve of Ruin (May 2024). Given what I would call the pretty dire quality of the last several (Vecna, Shattered Obelisk, and Turn of Fortune's Wheel in particular) I'm glad they pumped the breaks. But I'm not sure I want them to stop completely.