Wizards of the Coast President John Hight would "love" to see a new Dungeons and Dragons MMORPG, having said as much in a recent interview. However, the industry veteran believes that the traditional MMO template needs updating for that to happen, while stressing that there's no new Dungeons and Dragons project to announce right now.
Hight is a former Blizzard executive who was appointed as Wizards of the Coast president in July 2024. At Blizzard, he served as the executive producer and VP of World of Warcraft over a decade-long period ending in November 2021. He then spent over two and a half years as the general manager of the entire Warcraft franchise before moving to Wizards of the Coast.
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Wizards of the Coast President Would 'Love' a Modern DnD MMO
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Hight was asked about the prospects of another Dungeons and Dragons MMORPG, not just due to the surging popularity of the franchise but also given his own background in the genre. "I'd love to have that," he said, but while noting that such an endeavor would require Wizards of the Coast to "rethink what an MMO is in this day and age." He specifically identified the "traditional [subscription] model" that was pioneered by Ultima Online and Everquest before being popularized by World of Warcraft on a much larger scale as something "that could use updating" before committing to anything more concrete.
WotL's Dungeons and Dragons MMO Ambitions Are Still in Their Infancy
Although Hight is on board with the idea and in a position to greenlight it, he's quick to stress that the company's ambitions to make an MMORPG in the Dungeons and Dragons universe are still in their infancy. "We want to make sure that we've assembled the talent," he explained, while also noting that having the "backend technology" and concrete "plans to pursue" are another two milestones needed to clear for something of the sort to materialize. Regardless, Hight believes the group can get there in time. "That's a glimmer in my eye," he said. "I want to see it happen."
Given the current state of affairs, Hight had nothing concrete to announce on the Dungeons and Dragons MMORPG front. Even if Wizards of the Coast was already actively pursuing such a project, modern big-budget game productions take at least five years on average, and something as complex as a massive multiplayer online game could feasibly take longer.
I think that we'll want to rethink what an MMO is in this day and age.
To date, there have been several attempts at making a Dungeons and Dragons MMORPG, some more successful than others. The most recent one that is still ongoing is Cryptic Studios' Neverwinter, originally released in 2013. Dungeons and Dragons Online is also still receiving updates and is set to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2026.
- Franchise
- Dungeons & Dragons
- Original Release Date
- 1974
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
- Designer
- E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson