Wizards of the Coast, publisher of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, has canceled at least five of its in-development video games. bloomberg (opens in new tab) report. When contacted by PC Gamer, the publisher declined to comment on individual games. period portfolio to focus on games that are
In 2019, Wizards of the Coast announced that it had “seven or eight” Dungeons & Dragons video games in the works. This included Baldur’s Gate 3, which is currently in Early Access, and co-op brawler Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance, due out in 2021, while other games are yet to be released or Not officially announced. However, not everyone is at risk. The part of Wizards’ statement about focusing on “existing brands” suggests that D&D-related projects may be safer than others.
We know Hidden Path Entertainment, creators of the Defense Grid series, were working on a big-budget open-world D&D game. There are still 5 of his job openings related to the project. website (opens in new tab)Meanwhile, Otherside Entertainment, a developer whose main staff includes immersive sim legends Paul Neulas and Warren Spector, is working on a game set in the Forgotten Realms, which Spector launched last year. The job posting has since been deleted, but they did mention a “multiplayer gameplay system”, accompanied by a picture of a crime lord’s goldfish-stealing halfling. Maybe that was wishful thinking on my part.
Wizards of the Coast also has an in-house video game studio. D&D: Dark Alliance developer Tuque Games was acquired by Wizards and rebranded as Invoke Studios.a Press release (opens in new tab) declared that it was working on “a AAA game derived from the Dungeons & Dragons universe and developed in the Unreal 5 engine.” Skeleton Key Studio, which has yet to announce any projects it’s working on, and Archetype Entertainment, led by former BioWare developers including James Ohlen, are working on a narrative RPG “set in a new sci-fi universe.” It would certainly be a shame to lose the sci-fi RPG lead of Knights of the Old Republic whose designer led the studio.
Bloomberg reports that fewer than 15 Wizards of the Coast employees will lose their jobs as a result of these cancellations, all of whom will have the opportunity to apply for new positions within the publisher.