GenCon is in full effect right now, and as you might expect, that comes with a heap of news around tabletop games. During the convention, Wizards of the Coast released its roadmap for its tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). Despite being well into 2026, Wizards still has a lot of content to release from now until the end of the year. That’s without mentioning what they have planned for 2027.
Similar to its card game Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons is going to be kicking off a wide variety of content in the near future. These range from collaborations with well-known IPs to dark mature stories, and even the return of some iconic figures in the Dungeons & Dragons community.
Ahead of Gen Con announcements, MonsterVine was invited to a pre-briefing where we were filled in on everything the team is working on. Below is the roadmap for what Wizards of the Coast has in store. As you can see, a lot is coming to the table and beyond. Below you’ll find a quick rundown of everything you need to know.
Dungeons & Dragons Icons
Franchise’s creative director, Kara Kenna, goes on to explain that the “goal of this is to bring together legendary creators with the current design team to help shape future content.” Joe Manganiello will be joining the ranks as chief creation officer for Icons, Luke Gygax, who’ll be working in Greyhawk, and Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman in Dragonlance. Last but not least, Icons will include R. A. Salvatore with The Legend of Drizzt.
Arcana Unleashed
Senior designer at Wizards of the Coast Amanda Hamon stated that Arcana Unleashed will feature Alustriel Silverhand as the host character and will feature plenty of options themed around the eight schools of magic in D&D. Deadfall, on the other hand, is viewed as the “dark reflection,” according to Hamon. It’ll feature a high-level campaign for characters level 11-20. In short, the story will have players commit magical espionage in the nation of Thay to take down a Lich named Szass Tam.
World of Warcraft
The best-kept secret in the tabletop industry is finally out. Blizzard’s World of Warcraft will officially be joining Dungeons & Dragons in an upcoming expansion as a part of its Season of Champions. The upcoming set will be available for preorder on July 30, with early access beginning on November 3 and a wide release on November 17.
The upcoming expansion will feature 256 pages, which include the following:
- 11 New Species (Including The Haranir)
- Nine Subclasses (Including Death Knights, Demon Hunters, and Shadow Priest)
- Iconic Locations Across Azeroth
- WoW Non-Playable Characters
- Three Books (Standard, Hobby Store Exclusive, and Collector’s Edition)
- World of Warcraft DM Screen
- Map Pack (Focus on Icecrown Citadel)
- 7 Dungeons
- 30 Dungeon Boss Stat Blocks
- 60+ New Spells
- 50+ New Monsters
Although this isn’t featured in the book, Wizards has partnered with Hasbro to bring two sets of World of Warcraft miniatures. The first set features Arthas Menethil, while the other has Illidan Stormrage.
Dark Sun
This is a part of the Season of Survival for 2027 and is a bit interesting when compared to the other campaign books coming from Wizards. Dungeons & Dragons executive producer Greg Bilsland describes this as the game’s “first mature-rated setting.” To add more flavor to Dark Sun, since the book will explore mature themes, it’ll be shrink-wrapped with a giant warning to ensure readers know it’s an 18+ story.
The story for Dark Sun is simple. “This isn’t the world you save; it’s the world you survive.” Bilslan goes on to describe it as a “brutal place where survival is its own act of defiance, and in this dying world, magic corrupts the land, psionic creatures prowl the waste, and tyrannical sorcerer kings rule through power and fear.”
Dark Sun will be getting a full product sweep that’ll include the following:
- DM Screen
- Map Pack
- Setting Expansion
- Gameplay Expansion (New Psion Class Included)
- Limited Edition Player’s Handbook
Greyhawk Crown of the Witch Queen
Crown of the Witch Queen is a new story within the Greyhawk campaign setting as a part of the Season of Sword & Sorcery. This time around, the team is looking to give Greyhawk a new look while staying true to what it once was. “This adventure is going to be a villain-focused campaign centered on Drelnza,” product architect Andy Chilton explains.
Greyhawk Crown of the Witch Queen will get a hardcover release with 160 pages, and will also be available for purchase on D&D Beyond. Currently, Crown of the Witch Queen doesn’t have a release date, but it’s expected to launch in the second half of 2027.
D&D Beyond Updates
One of the main focuses for the latest update coming to the tabletop app is to make it easier for people to find games. The latest feature, LFG (Looking for Group), aims to do just that. There will be three ways to use the feature. The first helps people find games in person at WPN stores, where they can post local events.
The second involves a partnership with Start Playing. For a limited time, new players can get DM set up for 99 cents. Finally, the last way is to play through Discord. D&D plans to implement new features in its official Discord server, including a dedicated LFG section that’ll launch in the near future. Some updates will also include new DM tools and a new play experience that’ll launch on mobile in 2027, before making its way to PC.
Warlock Dungeons & Dragons
Although not much was given about Wizards of the Coast’s latest game, Warlock Dungeons & Dragons. We learned that the patron of the game will be none other than Tasha, and she’ll be voiced by Maggie Robertson (Resident Evil Village/ Baldur’s Gate III).
D&D Universes Beyond
Similar to Magic: The Gathering’s Universes Beyond, D&D will also be teaming up with other IPs. Not much information was given about what other collaborations the team will have. But product architect Laura Hohman told us this is meant to be seen as a “beloved love letter to these franchises.”
Bilsland went on to emphasize that the team isn’t looking to have a set that’s “all Universes Beyond or all none Universes Beyond.”
“We’ve had some great learning lessons from our friends across the office doors with Magic: The Gathering, and how we can best create Universes Beyond in a meaningful way without over-indexing,” Bilsland says regarding how the team will be working on Universes Beyond.
Annual Setting Support
To help expand stories in iconic settings, Wizards has partnered with various studios in the tabletop industry. This includes a new Ravenloft book written by Ghostfire Gaming as part of a new partnership. Then, in 2028, Visionary Production & Design will release a new Eberron adventure. The final partnership will include Kobold Press working in the Forgotten Realms.
