Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford two senior game designers for Dungeons & Dragons have announced their respective departures from Wizards of the Coast.
Perkins worked at Wizards of the Coast for 28 years starting as an editor for Dungeon Magazine then moving into game design, where he eventually became creative director. Perkins was the lead story designer for Curse of Stroud, the most famous adventure book written for fifth edition (5e) Dungeons & Dragons. Curse of Stroud is a 5e adaptation of the 1983 module Ravenloft and is so popular that it has spawned a fanbase that doesn't necessarily align with Dungeons & Dragons.
Two Major Dungeons & Dragons Designers Depart
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| Credit _Dungeons & Dragons |
In a statement on BlueSky Perkins said goodbye to Wizards of the Coast and Today I am retiring from Wizards of the Coast after 28 years. With D&D's 50th anniversary and the updated rulebooks, it's a great ending for me. I can't wait to enjoy D&D again as a fan, knowing the game is in good hands. See you in the Feywild.
A week later Crawford's departure from the company was also confirmed (via ScreenRant). Crawford started working at Wizards of the Coast in 2007 as a freelance tabletop game designer. He helped lead the design of the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons. He was also the lead designer of the 2024 revision of the Player's Handbook.
Wizards of the Coast has stated that the timing of these departures was chosen intentionally, as both have completed work on the game's new core rulebooks and felt it was a fitting stop after working on Dungeons & Dragons for a total of 46 years.
However, fans disagree, saying that the departures are not as controversial as everyone's statements claim. Although Perkins has worked on Dungeons & Dragons for over two decades and is presumably looking for something new creatively, observers are still concerned about Crawford's departure.
Cyberpunk_Wolf said on a Reddit thread about Crawford's departure Having Jeremy Crawford announce that he will be stepping down about a week after Perkins is definitely bad news on a corporate level.
Chris and Jeremy are leaving in the same month; the entire [virtual tabletop] team was laid off overnight. Scandy writes that you don't need to be an astrologer to tell that things aren't looking good.
Wizards of the Coast has already announced that James Wyatt and Wes Schneider are set to take on additional responsibilities following the departure of Crawford and Perkins. Both Schneider and Wyatt have long histories in tabletop RPGs though it is unknown whether or not they will receive promotions to the departing pair's former roles.
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