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.

 

[TiQuinn]

WHAT?!? OPINION?!? ONLY MY OPINION?!? How do you know that? Where's your proof that it was only my opinion?!? Huh? HUH?!? I think that's only your opinion that it was only my opinion! Which means that both opinions cancel each other out and thus my post becomes irrefutable fact! REFUTATION DENIED!!!!

It’s cute but given the way you stated it so adamantly, you get the response you get.

Go enjoy a game or setting you do enjoy.

 

[Demetrios1453]

Yeah I also refute that argument. They have done plenty of great remakes. Everyone worried that Planescape would be terrible and the two biggest complaints were that there was too much cardboard in the box set and it didn’t cover enough of the (infinite) multiverse. Neither of which were particularly problematic.

All that's needed for Planescape is a follow-up Manual of the Planes type book, and at that point, coverage is pretty complete. It seems that the vast majority of people knew that there simply wouldn't be a way to do complete, full, in-depth coverage without a book that would need a wheelbarrow to move it around. Planescape wisely confined itself to Sigil and the Outlands and left the rest for what has already been published, or what will be published.

Spelljammer simply failed to give us much in the way of at all for Wildspace Systems. With Planescape we got the Outlands, with the other planes described in the DMG, but Spelljammer pretty much left us high and dry on that matter. There's not even info on creating your own Wildspace systems!

 

[MGibster]

And that's what's going to make fans of the setting scream, if they do it again. People seem to have very strong feelings about Dark Sun.

Others have already said this, but people are going to scream no matter what WotC does. I can't help but think the people who have very strong feelings about Dark Sun are going to be older folk like me who don't really matter much from a demographic point of view.

 

[Parmandur]

Spelljammer simply failed to give us much in the way of at all for Wildspace Systems. With Planescape we got the Outlands, with the other planes described in the DMG, but Spelljammer pretty much left us high and dry on that matter. There's not even info on creating your own Wildspace systems!

Yeah, a catalog of Wildspace systems and some procedural generation help would have made the book, IMO.

 

[DEFCON 1]

It’s cute but given the way you stated it so adamantly, you get the response you get.

Go enjoy a game or setting you do enjoy.

I do! It's all the people who had demanded Dragonlance, Spelljammer, Ravenloft, and Planescape but then hated the results they were given that are the evidence of my point.

But whatever! Everyone can believe what they want.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Remember... I didn't say people who liked both didn't exist... I said you were rare.

Right now there are two of you who are thinking you will like old DS, as well as old DS. So let's count up how many people complain about the new DS book if/when it gets released to see just how rare you actually are.

I think you are wrong here. I think that people who like old DS who will like new DS are very common.

It's just that people who are guaranteed to dislike NEW DS (no matter what) will shout much louder on the internet.

Here on ENWorld, there will certainly be both. And they'll argue.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I think you are wrong here. I think that people who like old DS who will like new DS are very common.

It's just that people who are guaranteed to dislike NEW DS (no matter what) will shout much louder on the internet.

Here on ENWorld, there will certainly be both. And they'll argue.

Yeah, but I got my opinion out first, so mine wins. That's the rules of message boards.

 

[mamba]

I do! It's all the people who had demanded Dragonlance, Spelljammer, Ravenloft, and Planescape but then hated the results they were given that are the evidence of my point.

no one claimed that people who are unhappy with the products do not exist. The question was how many of them there are, and you have no data on that. It could be 10%, it could be 90%, you would not know either way.

Personally I believe it is a lot closer to 10 than to 90

 

[Remathilis]

no one claimed that people who are unhappy with the products do not exist. The question was how many of them there are, and you have no data on that. It could be 10%, it could be 90%, you would not know either way.

Personally I believe it is a lot closer to 10 than to 90

I think it's also a matter of why they are not happy. For example, I have no problem with the conceptual changes they made in Spelljammer, but I still find the box set lackluster unless you were just planning to run Light of Xarysis. There isn't enough meat on the bones, but the meat that is there is tasty. Compared to people who hate Spelljammer either for the lore changes (like the Astral Sea), rules changes (what do you mean Helms don't drain spell slots?) or concept (D&D in Space. Lol). Unfortunately, the Internet lacks nuance so all the people who disliked box for any of those reasons get lumped together to make the people upset with 5e SJ seem bigger than they really are. Lather, rinse, repeat for all the settings so far.

 

[Remathilis]

I mean... you're not wrong, but if you take a step back you can totally see where Crawford was coming from.

The 2e ethos of setting differentiation was subtraction. Start with the PHB and slice away a bunch of standard races and classes that aren't available in this setting. Then add in a mix of new stuff that was so specific it only applied to that setting and no where else. Bam, highly distinctive setting identity.

But this came at the cost of sub-dividing the market and depressing sales. Why buy a half dozen supplements for a setting you'll never use? Why buy the new player option book if two-thirds of it are disallowed? The Crawford maxim means that everyone wants to buy the new Xanathar's Guide or Tasha's Cauldron because you're confident you'll be able to use it in most campaigns. If you want to get setting specific books there's only one or two of them for a line, and a lot of the player options are still widely applicable.

D&D is D&D, and your books just work. That's how you build line strength and reliable sales. There's a bit less setting differentiation, but you're not trying to create fans of a particular setting you're trying to create fans of D&D. Settings with metaplots are out of style and so many people use homebrew worlds anyway. Better to go with what the community wants.

I just want to point out how absolutely right you are, to the point that some setting's rules felt more like a 3pp d20 game than an actual D&D rules expansion.