by Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons & Dragons has appointed Dan Ayoub, former Head of Studios for D&D, to Vice President of Franchise for the property, in a move that might give some clues as to what is happening at the TTRPG behemoth.
Recent weeks have been tumultuous for the company, as D&D VP Jess Lanzillo stepped down shortly after it was announced that former D&D mainstays Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford had joined nascent competitor Darrington Press.
With Ayoub’s new job, which will apparently be to oversee all D&D books, films, TV shows, merchandising, and video games under a single entity within the company, we can potentially guess as to what the future looks like for D&D.
Now, Ayoub is not some empty shirt when it comes to the hobby; he has played D&D for decades, and he knows what makes it tick. This can be said for almost everyone who makes it to the top of the company, however. From the outside looking in, it often feels that it can be influence by WotC, or even Hasbro, that muddies the waters.
This move will finally bring some cohesion (hopefully) to how D&D is handled within the company, although you could argue it also positions the future of the title as more of an Intellectual Property than a game.
According to Ayoub, this is essentially a dream come true.
So, what happened today? We shifted our structure internally and D&D moved to a full franchise model, meaning everything: books, video games, film, and TV – everything touching the franchise lives under one roof. The impact here cannot be overstated; this is massive for D&D and will allow a strong, coordinated, and well-funded approach for the franchise, and most importantly, for us, the fans. Finally, in a moment that doubtlessly has my childhood self doing cartwheels (and okay, maybe some old man cartwheels too), I’ve been asked to lead this new group! As of today, I am thrilled, humbled, and somewhat freaked out to be leading the Dungeons and Dragons franchise for Wizards of the Coast. I look forward to connecting with all the fans and teams as soon as possible to make the next 50 years of D&D the best ever!
It is clearer than ever that WotC has decided it is time for a real shake-up to how they have been approaching D&D, and it’s time to figure out the current disconnect that people seem to be feeling with the game and put it right. Whether they make the correct moves going forward remains to be seen.
