D&D 5E When do you think 5E will come out?

[Mercurius]

We haven't heard anything other than "not this year." We also know that we'll be seeing playtest stuff, so we'll be seeing more of it early on than we did with 4E, probably than with 3E.

But what's your guess as to when the product(s) first hits the stores? It also seems likely that they'll start with a starter set--Mearls mentioned learning their lesson from not starting with a starter set and building from there.

I'm giving some options. Vote!

 

[Piratecat]

I'll guess Q2 2013. (On an iPad, so I can't see the voting choices.)

 

[grimslade]

Basic rule set in time for GenCon 2013, the option loaded Advanced Players Handbook, Advanced Dungeon Masters Guide, Advanced Monster Manual, and Ed Greenwood's Forgotten Realms: Waterdeep will be released one a month to round out the year.

 

[ferratus]

My prediction is that the playtest will start in June, and the game will be released August 2013.

If they are smart, they will start releasing 5e content in DDI (particularly adventures) to go along with the playtest rules, to try to get as many people signed up as possible while they wait for the physical D&D books to release.

I would also raid the vault and start printing their old modules and prior edition products on ebook format to keep any and all cash flowing in while their 4e sales take a hit.

But then I'd support 1e on an ongoing basis (electronically rather than through physical product) alongside 5e. I probably wouldn't support 3e though, as that market has pretty much been taken by Pathfinder. A more acceptable new edition to pitch to 3e loyalists is probably the best bet to take back market share, as I don't think they are as hard to please as 1e fans.

 

[Mercurius]

I voted early 2013, although I could see a June release. First the starter set and an adventure to tide people over a couple months, then the core three "advanced" handbooks at GenCon.

What I'm wondering is what exactly they're going to release between now and then - that's a year and a half and we've heard about only a few items, and I certainly can't see a whole load of 4E products on the way.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Gencon 2012. The same date I predicted in 2008.

 

[was]

January 2013...New Year...New Edition

 

[brehobit]

Gencon 2012. The same date I predicted in 2008.

I've not seen the "not this year" claims, but I agree that GenCon 2012 is likely.

 

[Piratecat]

Gencon 2012. The same date I predicted in 2008.

I'll go out on a limb and say not a chance! To hit that date they'd have to be nearly done with the rules by now, and according to the seminars they're still pre-Alpha.

 

[Mercurius]

The quote I saw was from the most recent D&D Experience transcript and goes like this:

We're not ready to start talking about dates yet. We're still in the early stages of playtesting. I can tell you it won't be this year for sure.

You never know, but that sounds pretty definitive.

 

[Quickleaf]

January 2014. Give or take 4 months

From all the Internet buzz it sounds like there's a lot unresolved and public playtesting has yet to begin. I'd want about a year of public playtesting, say til April 2013, and then 4 months minimum to work those revisions in.

 

[mkill]

The later the better. 4E was rushed in many places - it would have benefitted a lot from more public feedback, some more experimenting with the rules, some fine-tuning, and more time for layout and art direction. I'd rather like to see 2014 than 2012.

 

[Oni]

I don't really have a guess. My hope is that they will release it when it's done. I don't mean that in any kind of flippant way, I would really prefer for them to get the game to be the best it can be rather than try to push anything out early in an effort to adhere to some kind of schedule for whatever reason.

 

[Jack99]

I'll guess Q2 2013. (On an iPad, so I can't see the voting choices.)

Yeah, you need to do something about that. Lots of us use an iPad

Gencon 2012. The same date I predicted in 2008.

I've not seen the "not this year" claims, but I agree that GenCon 2012 is likely.

Wow.. Gencon 2012? With a game still in alpha (according to the designers) and a playtest starting during the spring, I very much doubt that. If you lived nearby, I would have pulled out a $100 bill and told you to put your money where your mouth is.

Anyway, it does seem far off, but GenCon 2014 (or possibly early 2014) sounds more likely, in order to "cash in" on the 40th anniversary thing. Then again, they can probably do that without releasing a whole new edition.

 

[Yora]

Will be interesting to see how public playtest will work. I think the first pathfinder release was quite a long time before the final rules.

 

[delericho]

My guess is GenCon 2013.

To release this year the game would need to be basically done, making a mockery of their open playtest. But the longer they leave it, the more sales will stagnate - they probably can't survive having a full calendar year without something of significance to put out.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Basic set at D&DXP 2013. Full rules with the first 3 books at GENCON 2013.

 

[Glade Riven]

Finished products will start showing up in 2014, as part of the whole anniversery thing. With the rules still in flux, there still needs to be time - not only for playtesting, but for typesetting, art, printing, and shipping. Maybe Gencon 2013 will have an early "Christmas gift," but my bet is 2014.

 

[Yora]

24+ month development for an RPG is huge. I really doubt it will be any later than june 2013 at the most. Especially since now you can scrap any new 4th Edition books to be announced and I am sure they wouldn't want to go two entire years without any D&D sales. Yes, you have to arrange for layout, printing, and distribution, but you can do that all in advance. Until the moment it gets to the printing presses, you can keep changing things and I don't think it takes more than one or two months from starting printing to having the books on the shelves.
What we get now is playtesting, not shared design. The framework is standing and now its about checking the numbers over and over and over. You might notice that this feat needs a boost and that spell should be kicked out, and in case of total desaster you have to redesign an entire class. But this is game design. You can make a new class from scratch in three days and put it through extensive testing in two weeks. Especially when you have hundreds of volunteers.

I think if it hasn't already, they will very soon start to polish things but not plan any major changes to the basic system in place now. If they calculate for lots of testing, adjusting, and retesting, they should still be able to easily get it done in the next 12 months.

 

[William Ronald]

I suspect that it will be released at Gen Con in 2013. It will take a while to playtest what WotC has developed, and I could see a year's worth of products (perhaps designed to be fairly adaptable to a new edition) coming out. However, two years would be a long time for Wizards of the Coast to rely on a 4E revenue stream -- especially when players would be looking forward to a new edition.