Everything That Happened During D&D Direct 2023 Showcase

We are listing the biggest reveals from the D&D Direct 2023 showcase.

Just hours away from the theatrical release of Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) gave tabletop fans everywhere a plethora of announcements about the future of the world's greatest roleplaying game. During the showcase, Wizard of the Coast revealed videogame collaborations and huge product reveals.

In the tail end of the presentation, the creative leaders of Dungeons & Dragons painted a roadmap that held exciting expansions, new partnerships and huge updates for the books and video games. Read below to find out all of the juicy reveals for the year ahead!

Minecraft x Dungeons & Dragons

Wizards started off the D&D Direct showcase with the huge announcement of a collaboration with everyone's favorite sandbox. Finding a kindred spirit of adventure in Minecraft's impressive scale, the medieval TTRPG will be holding an official crossover where players will be able to go on adventures and fight some of D&D's most iconic monsters.

The crossover's monsterous compendium details the stat blocks for all of the upcoming mobs, and is readily available on the official Dungeons and Dragons YouTube channel.

Hasbro's “March Monster Madness”

Brand manager Emily Bader took the audience through some of the upcoming products the toy giant has in store for 2023. The Golden Archive collection will be getting figures of the Honor Among Thieves main cast. Together with this, Xanathar, Owlbear and Displacer beast models will also be made exclusively available on Pulse and Gamestop.

Characters from the old cartoons will also get the special treatment with an assortment of action figures. Additionally,”Dicelings” that magnetically transform into a variety D&D creatures will also be hitting the shelves this year. Talk about collectible!

Magic the Gathering x Honor Among Thieves

Another fun crossover was a movie tie-in for Magic the Gathering TCG. Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves' star-studded cast will get their own cards! These involve the lawful paladin Xenk, the fledgeling sorcerer Simon, the rogue Forge, the dependable Holga, the druid Doric and the man with the plan, Edgin the Bard.

Neverwinter: Menzoberranzan

RA Salvarore's world is going to take on a new form in Neverwinter's newest expansion. The legendary author took the spotlight to recount the journey he's had with Drizzt's character, from the character's accidental inception, to the books that changed Salvatore's life. Finally, the next adaptation of the Drow's decades-long saga was revealed; a long-awaited expansion for the official D&D MMORPG “Neverwinter”.

Written by R.A. Salvatore himself, the quests that players will undertake shall take them to the depths of the Underdark city to fight the corruption that threatens to rock the very foundations of all of Toril.

On the topic of game titles, Larian Studios' flagship “Baldur's Gate III” will be completely published on August 31, 2023 for macOS, Windows, and PlayStation 5 on February 23, 2023. The veteran game studio also revealed that an Xbox Series X and Series S port was in the works, but it was never publicly released due to technical challenges with split-screen co-op.

D&D Digital First Look

Next up was the first ever look at D&D Beyond's virtual tabletop (VTT) “D&D Digital”. Both of the hosts were able to playtest a scenario in-game, and the Unreal 5-powered showcase looked stunning. A less cluttered UI helped with overall immersion, as well as the vibrant 3D art that transports you into the game.

According to the principal game designer Kale Stutzman, spell effects and Player's Handbook rules have been completely integrated into the current build of D&D Digital. D&D Beyond subscribers will also be able to import character sheets into the game. What's more is that mood lighting, elements as well as weather systems are going to be a part of the highly-anticipated virtual tabletop system.

D&D Digital's “Encounter Mode” was also shown, which launched players into a fight scenario and exhibited the program's integrated Monster Manual and spell animations. Furthermore, Stutzman expressed his reverence to the core of Dungeons and Dragons while Direct was in development. Referring to the D&D fans as “the first mod community”, he wanted to honor the game by putting fun, convenience and authenticity in the center of it all.

D&D Digital is set to fully release in 2023.

Dungeons and Dragons' Official 50th Anniversary Documentary sneak peak

Joe Manganiello took the stage to let the fans know about a small passion project he's got going on; a feature-length tribute to D&D turning 50.

The American actor expressed his excitement for the documentary, which involves D&D historian John Peterson and co-author Kyle Newman. The show will chronicle the journey the tabletop pioneer has taken, from the tumultuous start of its first players, to the culture of inclusion and strong success that it celebrates today. Dungeons & Dragons has had an incredible impact on pop culture as a whole, and it deserves a proper celebration when the documentary releases in 2024.

Mysteries of the Multiverse

Dungeons & Dragons Senior Story Designer Chris Perkins and Lead Rules Designer Jeremy Crawford let the whole world know about the 5e adventure books that are set to release this year. 10 years in the making, an overarching multiverse adventure involving some of the biggest names in the Forgotten Realms is set to begin.

Mentioning obsidian obelisks, the cult of elemental evil and even the dragon queen herself, plots have been set in motion. On top of that, a familiar necromancer will be getting another cosmic horror adventure. Crawford also confirmed a new Epic adventure involving the Red Wizards in 2025.