In one of the final panels at this year’s GamesBeat Summit event, Dan Ayoub, SVP and head of Dungeons & Dragons at Wizards of the Coast (WotC) spoke about how the legendary tabletop game is growing beyond its roots. Speaking with author and actor Anjali Bhimani, he discussed his first year in his role, and how the company plans to take the franchise even further beyond the tabletop than it has already progressed.
Ayoub said that one of the most consistent pieces of feedback he received upon beginning in his role was that players’ lives have changed in such a way that makes D&D impractical. “That is one that I’ve really taken with me a lot. How do we create other forms of engagement in D&D? Whether you have 20 minutes or 6 hours, whether it’s a book or a shorter play experience or a video game or Actual Play.”
This feedback, as well as a desire to reconnect D&D with content creators and hobby stores, led to the creation of the brand’s new seasonal model and events. Bhimani, herself a longtime D&D player, noted that WotC is making an effort to make the game accessible for new players, including things like informational pop-ups during Actual Plays that explain gameplay mechanics.
Taking Dungeons & Dragons beyond established settings
Wizards of the Coast has rolled out the first few seasons for D&D, including the Season of Magic with the release of Arcana Unleashed. Bhimani asked Ayoub how he was able to balance the needs of new players with the veterans, and Ayoub said WotC can’t do so with a single product.
“We can’t make everything we do be for everyone, but everyone should see something for them,” said Ayoub. “D&D is 52 years old, and it means very different things to different people. One of the things that I’ve gotten really excited about is starting to meet those people… The base TTRPG, that’s always going to be the heart and soul of D&D. I think there was a lot of fear in the community when we talked about this franchise model. That could never go away.”
Bhimani noted that she was a lapsed player, who’d taken a break from D&D for other ventures only to return later. “Coming back to it during the boom of Actual Play and now seeing what you are doing with that franchise model, I’m seeing the worlds I remember from back then, like Ravenloft. That feels like another way to bring back that core audience while pulling people in.”
Ayoub also added that WotC planned to announce all of the company’s plans for D&D for the coming year at GenCon, which it recently did. Specifically, it announced plans to expand into new worlds in a crossover with World of Warcraft, as part of a new Universes Beyond banner. It also confirmed the year’s seasons including Survival, with a revisit of the Dark Sun campaign; Sword & Sworcery with the Greyhawk setting; and Rebellion, which will feature a crossover with Star Wars.