Head of ‘D&D’ Franchise Dan Ayoub Addresses Recent Release Information Delays, the Hobby Channel, and Future Plans
Wizards of the Coast’s D&D Design Team made an appearance at Gary Con XVIII and discussed a little bit about the future of the brand at a press conference on March 19, 2026.
There were quite a few bits of news to come out of this press conference, which was led by Gary Con founder Luke Gygax (see “ICv2 Interview”) and the new head of the D&D franchise Dan Ayoub. Perhaps the biggest bit of news to come from this event was that Luke Gygax will be collaborating with D&D design team on upcoming projects. Gygax specifically noted that he will be lending his expertise on the Greyhawk setting to future projects.
“I grew playing in Greyhawk,” said Gygax. “The names on the Greyhawk map are named after not only my family, but my friends and relatives. It is a place where I experienced all those adventures as Otis, The Ranger… the places we visited in those early campaigns are all seminal memories for me.”
Ayoub went on at length about his passion for the D&D brand, and that he is aware of how D&D design may have gravitated away from fan expectations in the last several years. He addressed the gap in new release information that occurred at the end of 2025 into February 2026, which was primarily due to team transition and that the creation of some of the new content limited the team’s ability to block releases. Ayoub also committed to an annual unveiling of the next year’s D&D lineup at Gen Con, starting in 2026 (for the 2027 lineup).
He also addressed plans for the new Season model for D&D (see “‘D&D’ Roadmap“), which span roughly three to five months depending on the product release. Ayoub is an advocate of the module format, so aside from the banner releases announced for each Season, there will also be modules on the way.
For retailers, Ayoub reaffirmed the company’s dedication to publishing print copies of D&D books. He also reaffirmed the D&D brand’s commitment to supporting retailers:
“(The hobby channel) is the beating soul of D&D,” said Ayoub. “I think it is something we’ve lost sight of a little bit. We’ve started sharing plans with retailers our plans to support retail…part of the plan behind Seasons was to help support retail.”
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