Dungeons and Dragons 50th Anniversary

The Dungeons & Dragons 50th anniversary plans described here were announced for 2024. Events, products, digital features and availability described below are historical and may no longer be current.

Dungeons & Dragons reached its 50th anniversary in 2024, which is an impressive run for a game built around dice, character sheets and the ability of one friend to derail an entire evening by deciding to investigate a suspicious door.

Wizards of the Coast marked the milestone with new rulebooks, classic adventures, licensed products and digital projects. Here is what was part of the anniversary push at the time.

Dungeons & Dragons turned 50 in 2024

D&D traces its first publication to 1974. For the 50th anniversary, Wizards of the Coast planned celebrations throughout 2024, including a shared play experience inspired by the classic Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.

The anniversary was designed to look backward and forward at the same time: revisit material longtime players recognized while introducing updated books and tools for newer players.

New 2024 core rulebooks

A major part of the anniversary year was the rollout of updated core rulebooks. The new Player’s Handbook was scheduled for September 17, 2024, with changes to organization and player options among the updates promoted at the time.

Those books are no longer upcoming releases, so the 2024 launch countdown no longer applies.

Classic adventures returned

Wizards of the Coast also used the anniversary to revisit familiar settings and adventures from D&D history. That made the celebration less about simply putting a 50th-anniversary logo on things and more about connecting different eras of the game.

For families interested in actually getting a campaign onto the table, our newer Dungeons and Dragons Family Game Guide looks at approachable ways to play together.

LEGO, Converse and other anniversary products

The 2024 anniversary included licensed collaborations beyond the tabletop books. Announced partners included Converse for footwear and apparel, LEGO for an official Ideas set with minifigures, and Pop-Tarts for themed snacks.

Those were anniversary-era products, not current shopping recommendations. Availability should be checked independently if you are looking for any of them now.

Digital D&D was part of the plan

The anniversary announcements also pointed toward expanded digital play, including work on a 3D virtual tabletop and updates to D&D Beyond. As with any software project, features and release plans can change, so those references are best understood as part of the company’s 2024 roadmap.

Fifty years is a long time for any game to survive, especially one whose sessions can be postponed indefinitely because one player has soccer practice and another forgot it was Tuesday. D&D made it anyway.