Playing Games in 2026: TTRPG Industry Professionals Predict What Comes Next

It's interesting because there aren't a lot of launches in 2026. I think we'll see more IP break records on crowdfunding sites. I think 2026 might be a quiet year, and because of this, it gives Wizards a big leg up if they have a substantial release for the new rules. I also think Daggerheart will see a nice uptick with their new release/expansion based on the current popularity. The D&D tv show will likely start production in 2026, which might stir up general interest again.

The majority of the DnD player base will be playing with the 2024 rules by the end of the year. I’ve been around since 3.0, and edition transitions take roughly 2 years before the newest ruleset dominates online discussions.

3rd-party products will revert to only supporting DnD. Following the OGL debacle, many 3rd-party creators made sincere efforts to support PF2, Tales of the Valiant, and both versions of 5e. That’s difficult, costly, and has very little return on investment, so I expect that we’ll go back to all DnD all the time like it was prior to the OGL debacle. That’s certainly a pessimistic view, but it appears to be already happening.

A move away from products which are more complicated than 'a book'. Despite Quinns Quest's lovely review of boxed games (of which ours was one!) US tariffs makes production of those sorts of game less and less viable.  So rather than an increase of them, I think things may go in the opposite direction. Including games based on cards or possibly even crowdfunding rewards that include things like dice and similar add ons. 

The story of 2026 will be whether these new systems continue to flourish and/or whether WotC can recapture some of their previous 5E successes. Daggerheart and Draw Steel both have their first big expansions in the work and it will be interesting to see if they are really taking over tables and building long term player bases or if it was a flash in the pan excitement that fades.

Ironically D&D 2024 has the same issue. All 3 core books are out now and the reception has felt pretty lukewarm and that seems to be carrying over to the new releases. Combined with internal shakeups from the Perkins/Crawford departure and a lack of a consistent media face, they could really get outmaneuvered this year.

And not to forget the indies but I think this more tumultuous environment has a lot more players looking into non-d20 games than before. Players who realize they can learn a 2nd system will be much more open to the 3rd, 4th and 5th new system. I think, at least to a small extent, Daggerheart will buoy the narrative games (PBTAs and FITDs) and Draw Steel could even lead to a 4E renaissance that could benefit games like Lancer, Beacon and Gubat Banwa.

I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of small zines and card games - things that are easy and cheap to print and ship. The inconsistent tariffs in the US really messed up a lot of plans for publishers this year and while there was a lot of exciting work being done with the physical form of a game (games with more board game type elements were starting to pop up, like Jiangshi from Wet Ink) it's going to be more expensive to get that kind of stuff made in 2026. 

That being said, I'm really excited to see more cross pollination between the different spheres of the indie TTRPG community. This is something I saw more of this year, storygamers mixing with OSR folks and trad and neo-trad and everyone else, but I think that's something that is just getting started and I am really looking forward to the discussions and games that will come from it in 2026. 

We're going to see continued proliferation of indie RPGs and adventures by established companies (except WotC) that are either cozy or cathartically anti-authoritarian "fine, I'll do it myself" games as people use their sessions to try to cope with the world being on fire. Horror will also grow, with themes of black-and-white good vs evil (because it would be nice if things were simple and obvious) and the supernatural (because watching the evils we know ruin things is getting awfully miserable).