D&D (2024) WotC Reveals The Confirmed Release Dates of 2024's D&D Slate

We now have the actual release dates of the upcoming slate of Dungeons & Dragons books, as shared by WotC via a press release emailed out a few minutes ago.

• Vecna: Eve of Ruin (May 21)
• The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977 (June 18)
• Quests from the Infinite Staircase (July 16)
• Player’s Handbook (Sept 17)
• Dungeons Master’s Guide (Nov 12)
• Monster Manual (Feb. 18, 2025)

Vecna: Eve of Ruin

• Adventure Campaign
• For characters of levels 10-20
• A high-stakes adventure in which the fate of the entire multiverse hangs in the balance. The heroes begin in the Forgotten Realms and travel to Planescape, Spelljammer, Eberron, Ravenloft, Dragonlance, and Greyhawk as they race to save existence from obliteration by the notorious lich Vecna who is weaving a ritual to eliminate good, obliterate the gods, and subjugate all worlds.
• Release Date: May 21, 2024

The Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons: 1970-1977

• History of D&D
• The ultimate book showcasing D&D’s inception, including Gary Gygax’s never-before-seen first draft of D&D written in 1973, a curated collection of published fanzine and magazine articles contribute to D&D’s origin story. Each document is introduced, described, and woven into the story by one of the game’s foremost historians, Jon Peterson.
• Release Date: June 18, 2024

Quests from the Infinite Staircase

• Adventure Anthology
• For character levels 1 to 13.
• This anthology weaves together six classic DUNGEONS & DRAGONS adventures while updating them for the game’s fifth edition. The Infinite Staircase holds doors leading to fantastic realms. It’s home to the noble genie Nafas, who hears wishes made throughout the multiverse and recruits heroes to fulfill them.
• Release Date: July 16, 2024

Player’s Handbook (2024)

• Player resource
• Take your game to the next level with the revised 2024 Player's Handbook. More player options, enhanced organization, and engaging additions to the fifth edition rules, make this a must have for your next Dungeons & Dragons campaign.
• Release Date: September 17, 2024

Dungeon Master’s Guide (2024)

• DM resource
• It's never been easier to become the Dungeon Master than with the revised 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide. Learn the craft from the experts in a cleverly crafted and accessible approach to running your own game. With more tools than ever before, becoming the master of your own multiverse will be a snap.
• Release Date: November 12, 2024

Monster Manual (2025)

• DM Resource
• The revised 2025 Monster Manual brings you the greatest selection of foes to face off with your player's characters than ever assembled in the history of the game. More options at all levels of play means more ways to provide the challenges that will keep them coming back to the table again and again.
• Release Date: February 18, 2025

 

[Azzy]

Am I wrong in thinking that the adoption of the 2024 edition be larger if all the books came out at the same time? This seems like a really odd choice to me, to have the PHB come out 5 months prior to the MM.

Most editions have had staggered releases, so I don't think there's any inherent problem here. Also, you can use the 5.24e PHB with the 5.14e DMG and MM (just like you could use the 1e MM with the original D&D boxed set—it was released a couple years before the 1e PHB.

 

[Starmaster]

Yes, but those are out of print, as are all the WotC licensed OAR volumes: they aren't available from Goodman Games at all at this point, they scrubbed them from their website last year.

Wow, I had no idea Goodman's WotC license for TSR reprints/conversions had ended. I'm glad I got the first six OAR volumes before they were discontinued. I guess that explains why OAR7 is "Dark Tower" (Judges Guild reprint/conversion) and OAR8 is Grimtooth's Traps instead of more of the classic TSR conversions.

 

[JEB]

Yes, but those are out of print, as are all the WotC licensed OAR volumes: they aren't available from Goodman Games at all at this point, they scrubbed them from their website last year.

Sure would be nice if they could come to some agreement that let them be released in PDF on DTRPG/DM Guild. A good anniversary gift, even.

 

[Parmandur]

Sure would be nice if they could come to some agreement that let them be released in PDF on DTRPG/DM Guild. A good anniversary gift, even.

Or Beyond! Goodman Games has a lot of D&D material that would play well on Beyond.

 

[JEB]

Or Beyond! Goodman Games has a lot of D&D material that would play well on Beyond.

Eh, we'd miss out on stuff like the historical background in a Beyond release.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Am I wrong in thinking that the adoption of the 2024 edition be larger if all the books came out at the same time? This seems like a really odd choice to me, to have the PHB come out 5 months prior to the MM.

You are wrong, I'm afraid. It's a relatively small market that would be happy to buy all three at once. But that's not why they're not doing it; it's because apparently there are no printers that can handle their print runs all at once (and presumably, WotC doesn't want to print a whole bunch of PHBs and then sit on them for half a year!)

A slipcase set is a great idea for Christmas 2025, but the sales of individual books will DWARF that of the set, even if the set had come out first. Most people buy one, save up, buy another (even if they want all three).

 

[Parmandur]

You are wrong, I'm afraid. It's a relatively small market that would be happy to buy all three at once. But that's not why they're not doing it; it's because apparently there are no printers that can handle their print runs all at once (and presumably, WotC doesn't want to print a whole bunch of PHBs and then sit on them for half a year!)

A slipcase set is a great idea for Christmas 2025, but the sales of individual books will DWARF that of the set, even if the set had come out first. Most people buy one, save up, buy another (even if they want all three).

Particularly the core audience of the game...teenagers.

 

[Nikosandros]

Particularly the core audience of the game...teenagers.

Yeah... it tracks with my (prehistoric) experience. I started playing when I was 12 and I spread the purchases of the AD&D books over a year. 36,000 Italian Lira per book where quite the expense for my 12/13-years old self back in 1986...