Wizards of the Coast President Teases Possible D&D MMORPG

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In a recent interview with the video game news websites GamesIndustry.Biz, Wizard of the Coast’s President John Hight spoke at length about the possibility of a new Dungeons & Dragons Massive Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game. The discussion wasn’t necessarily a surprising one given that before his current tenure at WotC, Hight had worked as a senior lead at Blizzard on World of Warcraft, which remains arguably the world’s most successful MMORPG.

So just what did Hight have to say on the subject and could a new D&D MMORPG actually happen? Below, we take a closer look at all the details.

Is a new Dungeons & Dragons MMORPG in development?

“I’d love to have that,” Hight said in the interview with GamesIndustry.Biz when asked whether a D&D MMORPG was possible. “I think that we’ll want to rethink what an MMO is in this day and age. I think the traditional model that Blizzard – well, even before that, Ultima Online, Everquest – pursued, that could use updating.”

A modern D&D MMORPG, however, would face some serious hurdles, not the least of which is that MMORPGs like World of Warcraft have become significantly less popular given the rise of quick hit multiplayer titles like Fortnite and Minecraft. It would also likely require a significant amount of budget and resources to develop, either in-house or with a third-party studio.

“I think in our case, it’s probably a crawl, walk, run [situation],” Hight says regarding a possible D&D MMORPG. “We want to make sure that we’ve assembled the talent, we have the backend technology, we have the plans to pursue. But of course, that’s a glimmer in my eye. I want to see that happen.”

In the interview, he also notes that he’s spoken with the Wizards of the Coast team numerous times about an D&D MMORPG while also asking “”What [will] an MMO look like in five, ten years? Where do people go next, after Battle Royale? It’s out there, there’s people working on it right now. And what I’m interested in is, can we tie the ideas that they have for gameplay to some of the worlds and the brands that we have?”

Doesn’t a D&D MMORPG already exist?

Interestingly, in the interview Hight makes no mention of the fact that a D&D MMORPG actually does exist in the form of Dungeons & Dragons Online (often abbreviated to DDO). First developed by Turbine Studios in 2006, over the years it’s launched a number of major expansions, including most recently The Chill of Ravenloft which was just released in August of 2025. Today, DDO is managed by Standing Stone Games, who took over from Turbine back in 2016. The game, however, has seen a massive drop off in its player base over the past 20 years and currently has about 2,000 active daily players, according to MMO Populations. To put this into perspective, World of Warcraft has about 2 million active daily players.

There’s also Neverwinter, a free-to-play MMORPG first launched in 2013 by Cryptic Studios and Perfect World Entertainment. It draws inspiration from the fourth and fifth editions of D&D and has also had over 30 expansions (known as “modules”) over the years, including Red Harvest, which was released in May 2025. While its peak player population has declined since launch, Neverwinter still has about 2,700 active daily players, according to MMO populations.

So it’s odd that in a discussion about a possible new D&D MMORPG, Hight overlooked that two already exist, albeit with a relatively small fanbase.

What D&D Video Games Are in the Works?

While a new D&D MMORPG may be nothing more than a pipe dream (at least for now) there are a number of D&D video games that are in active development, including:

• Untitled Hasbro Game: Wizards of the Coast has also indicated that an in-house studio at Hasbro is currently developing a currently unnamed D&D game, although little information has been revealed about what it will consist of.
• Untitled D&D surival sim: In development from Gameloft Montreal, the studio best known for the popular Disney Dreamlight Valley, this new D&D title will be an action-focused survival-life sim set in the Forgotten Realms.
• Project Baxter: In development from Starbreeze Enterainment, who are best known for their shooter Payday 3, little has been revealed about this upcoming D&D game (code named “Project Baxter”) other than that it is a co-operative multiplayer game and slated for release in 2026 for consoles and PC.
• Untitled Saber Interactive game: The developers of the popular Space Marine 2 video game are also working on a new Hasbro title that may be D&D related.
• Battlemarked: is an upcoming co-op virtual reality RPG game set in the world of D&D. The game is built using the Demeo Action Role Playing System, which involves tactical turn-based combat for up to four players.
• Baldur’s Gate 4: Wizards of the Coast has recently confirmed that a BG4 is in the works (although a studio and release date has not yet been announced).

Final Thoughts

The fact that Wizards of the Coast President is seriously discussing a Dungeons & Dragons MMORPG shows just how invested the company has become in video games, particularly after the success of Baldur’s Gate 3. And while a new MMORPG still might never see the light of day, if Hight’s interview is any indication, it’s also something that’s not nearly as farfetched as it once might have seen.

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