Wizards of the Coast Re-Registers Dark Sun With USPTO

Wizards of the Coast recently filed an application to register Dark Sun in the US, a sign that D&D could be bringing back the campaign setting in the near future. The trademark claim was filed on October 13th, 2025 and is poised to replace a previous trademark that was cancelled by the USPTO in 2024. The trademark, like most involving D&D properties, covers both "downloadable electronic games," "games and playthings," and "entertainment services." Similar active trademarks exist for other D&D campaign settings such as Spelljammer and Forgotten Realms, although neither of those have lapsed in recent years.

We'll note that, as the previous Dark Sun trademark lapsed a year ago, this could be a case of simple paperwork, or it could be the latest sign that a Dark Sun product is eminent. Earlier this year, Wizards released an Unearthed Arcana for the Psion class and several subclasses that all but spelled out a return to the setting, complete with mentions of sorcerer-kings, gladiatorial fights, and preservers and defilers.

 

[Zaukrie]

I look forward to DS. I think it offers something different, truly, than their other settings. I really hope they lean hard into trying to save the environment as one theme, not just survival (ducks).

 

[FitzTheRuke]

that last part is 100% correct. so very correct. Just awful. Truly. (and, there are so many issues with the add on, no, it should not have been on its own either).

I'm just being charitable, that maybe if they'd had to make it a whole thing on its own, that it would have come together better.

 

[Umbran]

Maybe. Seems unlikely to me that they'd skip a D&D book at this point, though. Heck, why not both?

Because these days, being edgy in a videogame is expected, but not so much in print game materials. Different markets, different products, different expectations.

Honestly, I think it's strange that they aren't better at product "synergy". I mean, I get that video games take extremely longer than TTRPG production. But, so? Wait until the game is in its final stretch to make a TTRPG tie-in!

Well, that is why they went to the "full franchise model" - to coordinate different efforts.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

That sounds interesting. Share when you have a working draft!

If I remember , currently working on understanding the system by creating a solo campaign.

 

[BenjaminPey]

Planescape was quite good (and I say that as a fan of the 2E era, I still own all boxes and supplements from back then). Solid panoramic view of Sigil and the Outlands, largely on par, if not better, than the original campaign set, content wise, both on quality and quantity. Didn't run the adventure yet, but it looks solid.
Spelljammer I didn't care for, the setting was anemic, but the adventure looks good, too.
I'm eager to see what they make of Dark Sun, if they do.

 

[Zardnaar]

I look forward to DS. I think it offers something different, truly, than their other settings. I really hope they lean hard into trying to save the environment as one theme, not just survival (ducks).

5E handles survival poorly.
Environment thing is a big one left. All the "bad" stuff in DS was in BG3 for the most part. Will they do a somewhat faithful BG3 style adaption or spelljammer it up?

Alot of the crap parts of DS were in later products as well not the OB. Focus on the OB.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

that last part is 100% correct. so very correct. Just awful. Truly. (and, there are so many issues with the add on, no, it should not have been on its own either).

The direction they went was so weird. Lost Mine is probably the most-played 5E adventure and there's a ton of conversation out there around it and it feels like they read none of it. (Good lord, even if you think the goblin cave is fine as-is, it certainly didn't need to be made harder.)

Just going for the obvious wins -- explaining more about the mine and Black Spider, or merging the content from the Essentials Set with it -- would have made a hardback for the ages.

Such a strange, unforced error.

 

[Reynard]

I wonder if there is any chance they would do a Psionics book, and include DS as the "example psionic focused campaign" in that book.

 

[overgeeked]

Such a strange, unforced error.

That perfectly describes a lot of what WotC's been doing for years.

 

[Superchunk77]

Very interesting. I always liked Dark Sun simply because I thought the world was cool and I adore psionics. There were never enough support products/adventures for it though to be worth my while.

Ummm what? Dark Sun had a ton of products/adventures for 2e. Athas.org (official fan site) carried it through to 3.5e and is actively working on edition flexible products to this day. They even run their own Dark Sun convention now, Athascon. Even the 4e version had a lot of support in the Dragon and Dungeon pdf's as well as a few official adventures.

If you're looking for good dark sun stuff it's already there. Don't wait for WotC to muck it up.