For those who don’t know me, I’m Dan Ayoub. I’m no stranger to D&D, both professionally and personally. I previously worked with Wizards of the Coast on their digital products, and I’ve recently become the Head of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise.
I’ve also been playing D&D since I was twelve years old, when the Basic Set got me hooked. I know firsthand the power D&D has to ignite your imagination and foster friendships—I’ve been playing with the same group as when I started all those years ago.
I’m lucky enough that the game I love has shaped not only my friendships but my entire career. Every morning, I still have to pinch myself because I get to help guide the future of the game I’ve loved since the first roll.
I’m here to open a dialogue with you—the players, Dungeon Masters, live stream watchers, and storytellers. You’ve filled taverns with laughter, launched spells across the multiverse, and rolled death saving throws with anxious hearts.
Dungeons & Dragons belongs to you, and we’re putting it back where it belongs: at your table.
- A System That Belongs to You
- A Stronger SRD, Step by Step
- Run Your D&D Beyond Content on Maps—No Subscription Required
- From the Community, For the Community
A System That Belongs to You
The new Core Rulebooks were shaped by ten years of community play, feedback, and love for fifth edition.
This upgrade doesn’t replace the previous rules; it enhances them. It makes this beloved system more player-friendly, better to create content for, and evolve rather than replace the fifth edition books you already own.
A Stronger SRD, Step by Step
Alongside the content provided in the new Core Rulebooks, we’re updating the System Reference Document (SRD) on a rolling basis.
We’re committing to long-term access and support of this resource through the errata process. This ensures the SRD will remain up to date with the latest standards and mechanics for creators to use in their works.
Run Your D&D Beyond Content on Maps—No Subscription Required
Starting September 16, in time with the release of Heroes of the Borderlands, all D&D Beyond registered users can run games on the Maps virtual tabletop (VTT) —no subscription required.
The core experience will be made available to everyone: If you own a map, module, or adventure on D&D Beyond, you can use it on Maps and invite your friends to play. Period.
Our Master Tier subscription will unlock more customizability for DMs who need it. You’ll be able to upload homebrew maps, custom tokens, and access exciting tools built just for you.
From the Community, For the Community
We’re laying the groundwork for a new initiative that will bring community voices directly into the room. Our goal is to create a rotating advisory group made up of creators, publishers, educators, and fans who can help us shape future tools, policies, and content in a real, ongoing way.
We’re still finalizing the structure and process, but our intention is clear: this isn’t a one-time survey or a PR move. It’s about building lasting collaboration with the people who make D&D what it is.
More details to come, but we are also developing a creator spotlighting program that will highlight third-party creations across our official channels. If you’re making something incredible, the world should see it.
At D&D, we understand that the community is the beating heart of the game we all love, and we want it to thrive so more people can experience adventures with their friends and family.
We’ve stumbled before. We’ve learned from it. And now, we’re committed to clearer communication, more transparency, and consistent support—for players, creators, and publishers.
This Is Just the Beginning
This new direction for Dungeons & Dragons is already underway. We’re here to earn your trust, not ask for it.
We're building a game that honors the past, listens in the present, and opens new doors for the future. Together.
We’re investing long-term in this game, this community, and the stories we collectively tell. That means better digital tools, more open development, and more content built alongside players.
We’ll see you at the table.
—Dan Ayoub, Head of the Dungeons & Dragons Franchise
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Posted Aug 1, 2025I like what I am reading - and if this really turns out to be the new direction DnD is taking, then I will be quite happy.
I DM with miniatures, terrain and map books, I have little use for a VTT. But I appreciate that VVTs make it easier for people to play online - and I get that not overyone is able to find a local group to play with. I am for almost anything that makes DnD accessible to more people - even if I have no use for it myself. Having said that; please update the encounter builder to 2024 calculations, preferably with the option to switch between 2014 and 2024 calculations. Having no need for digital maps, building encounters in maps is a massive vaste of time and effort for me, to a degree where it is boderline demotivating. I have used the encounter builder a lot as a DM, but having switched to using mainly the 2024 rules now, it is severely lacking as a tool. A shame, as I generally find the 2024 rules to be a net positive compared to the 2014 rules.
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Posted Aug 1, 2025I totally agree that they should fix the encounter builder but the 2 alternatives i use for the time being is Kobold fight club (kobaldplus.club) or kastark.co.uk for a more generic calculator. i Havent found one that includes monsters from all the different books available here so Kastark is good for that.
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Posted Aug 1, 2025Very well corporated.
The root of the problem is a lack of domain expertise in the executive sute (Microsoft cell phone games are NOT close enough!) and an adherence to the quarterly-profit driven business model pushed by Harvard Business School and others that mindlessly ape that destructive philosophy of business is a disaster, as proven by the short-sighted unsustainable decisionmaking we've seen.
D&D is a product, sure, but it's a unique type of product, one that hasn't accurately been defined in the market.
Tabletop Roleplaying Games, such as D&D, Call of Cthulhu, Shadowdark, and any other specific game you could name, are a medium in their own right. A medium is a means of communication, like newspapers, television, movies, books, video games, videos, social media apps, etc. If you treat it like a 'game' you're getting only a part of the picture, and it's this lack of undertanding that has plagued executives from Chris Cocks and Cyntha Williams all the way back to Lorraine Williams. It doesn't fit neatly into the traditional game - based product boxes, it doesn't fit into video-game product boxes, it is ts own medium and should be treated as such.
Business is Business, a lot of executives will say, but the difference between a business that merely survives vs one that thrives is domain expertise. Sure, you'll have capital expenses, cost of goods sold, EBITDA, etc everywhere you look, but without knowing the product, knowing the market, knowing the customers, full success will remain out of reach.
So it's encouraging that you've got domain expertise yourself, but until there is such expertise all the way up, or until the executives honestly delegate decisions to those who do and stay out of the way, and stop talking about 'undermonitization' and stop trying to treat D&D like it was GI Joe or Candy Crush.
Personally, I think Wizards should act more like Steam does for video games, and use its platform to support myriad games and developers as well as its flagship product, and leave off the effort to become the only game in town.
Stop trying to mine all the gold in them thar hills and start selling pickaxes and shovels.
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Posted Aug 1, 2025This is the right thing to do. Thank you!
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Posted Aug 1, 2025Business is 10 billion dollars a year or a couple million. They can choose wisely or follow people who dont know what they are talking about.
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Posted Aug 1, 2025Welcome Dan. I like the idea of community spot light and advisory groups. Not sure if I've anything to offer there but I'd be interested.
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Posted Aug 1, 2025I like what I am reading, looking forward to this plan.
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Posted Aug 2, 2025Agreed
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Posted Aug 2, 2025This is well appreciated. Continue with this and you will earn the respect and appreciation of many fans.
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Posted Aug 2, 2025Congrats on the new direction, Dan. Opening the VTT and committing to a stronger SRD are great steps toward rebuilding trust and empowering the community.
That said, D&D Beyond still feels closed off. Key concerns include restrictive homebrew tools, unclear monetization, lack of offline access, limited third-party integration, and digital ownership concerns.
We’re excited by your vision—just make sure the platform truly supports the open, player-driven spirit that defines D&D.
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Posted Aug 2, 2025im a master sub for a fair amount of time and mostlly because i enjoy MAPS. opening maps to the community is a great. however, unless much more perks are provided to master subs, i believe many people will cut the sub, myself included.
good luck on ur direction!