Starbreeze Entertainment, publishers of Roboquest, the PAYDAY series, and more have announced Project Baxter, an officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons game with aims to release in 2026.
As with the PAYDAY games, Starbreeze will act as developer and publisher and will feature “co-operative multiplayer, lifetime commitment through a Games as a Service-model, community engagement and a larger than life experience.” The game will also be developed in Unreal Engine 5.
Tobias Sjögren, CEO of Starbreeze, sees the collaboration as a Nat 20 for the company, saying in a press release announcing the venture:
“It is hard to imagine a better pairing than Dungeons & Dragons and Starbreeze – both with their foundation in cooperative and community driven experiences, ‘play it your way’ and infinite replayability. When looking at prospective IPs for our future projects, Dungeons & Dragons was always at the top of our list and I’m incredibly happy to announce this license.”
In the same press release, Eugene Evans, SVP Digital Strategy and Licensing at Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro is optimistic about what Starbreeze will bring to the game:
“Our gaming brands, including Dungeons & Dragons, continue to attract great partners as we execute our plan to grow our digital games portfolio through licensing and development. Our collaboration with Starbreeze is a prime illustration of this strategy. Given their impressive games and passion for Dungeons & Dragons, we are confident that they will create an experience that will delight fans worldwide.”
Between Baldur’s Gate III and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, it’s been a big year for the tabletop game. After spending several years in Early Access, Baldur’s Gate III had its 1.0 release on PC in August, released on PlayStation 5 in September, and will be on Xbox by the end of the year. (It could also be bringing home several awards from The Game Awards this week.) The film Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves released in March of this year, grossing just shy of $210 million and its popularity has spawned talks of a sequel.
Are you excited that Starbreeze is creating a game in the Forgotten Realms? Let us know down in the comments.