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In a post-Baldur’s Gate 3 world, it’s unclear what the future holds for Dungeons & Dragons videogames. Contributing least to that clarity is Hasbro itself, which in recent years has laid off the team that handled D&D licensing with Larian, canceled at least five D&D games that were in the works, and has generally bungled a franchise that millions would otherwise be eager to enjoy.
Wizards of the Coast, at least, evidently has ambitions. In an interview with Gamesindustry.biz, WotC president John Hight says the publisher is once again looking forward to new D&D projects—projects that might eventually overlap with his history as Warcraft general manager.
Hight joined WotC as president and head of digital gaming in 2024, a time when he said “some of the hard bits were past us.” In the time since, Hight said WotC has been strengthening its processes for videogame development, with a particular focus on the development staff itself.
“What makes games great is the talent behind them,” Hight said, “and I think if we can create an environment where they feel appreciated, if they feel like they can do their best work, that will be the key to our success.”
To that end, WotC is building a central development team that can be deployed on different internal and external game projects that all share similar development tools. That team, Hight said, would be a “set of artists and designers that are trained up on [Dungeons & Dragons], that have a love and affection for [D&D] and an understanding of it, and can effectively move from one game to the next.”
By pairing that mobile, central team with external partners and co-development studios, Hight said the aim is to insulate WotC’s development staff from the “complexities” of game development cycles that see developers subjected to continual hirings and downsizing.
Asked whether those developers might someday turn their efforts towards a new D&D MMO, Hight said he’d “love to have that,” but it would need to be a project that would differentiate itself.
“I think that we’ll want to rethink what an MMO is in this day and age,” Hight said. “I think the traditional model that Blizzard—well, even before that, Ultima Online, Everquest—pursued, that could use some updating.”
It wouldn’t be the first D&D MMO, of course. Dungeons & Dragons Online, originally developed by Turbine, released in 2006, and Cryptic Studios’ Neverwinter launched in 2013. Both games are still running as free-to-play services today. In fact, DDO’s latest expansion, The Chill of Ravenloft, launched just last month on August 20. It lets you make a Dhampir, which as we all know is like a vampire, but different.
“We want to make sure that we’ve assembled the talent, we have the backend technology, we have the plans to pursue,” Hight said. “But of course, that’s a glimmer in my eye. I want to see that happen.”
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lincoln.carpenter@futurenet.com (Lincoln Carpenter)
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