D&D unveils new open-world adventure game Warlock, but it's definitely not a turn-based RPG like Baldur's Gate 3

D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast has announced a new action adventure game set within its tabletop universe.

Warlock, unveiled in a teaser trailer during The Game Awards, puts you in control of the titular D&D class. The trailer doesn't offer much information, but gives a sense of some magical combat, and a hint at the relationship between main character Kaatri and their patron - the powerful entity that strikes a bargain with a Warlock to grant them their supernatural abilities.

Developer Invoke, which has previously worked on D&D with 2021's Dark Alliance, says it's aiming to create an immersive, open-world, single-player experience, and that this isn't exactly an answer to Baldur's Gate. While Warlock will firmly be set in the world of D&D, the team isn't trying to simulate the tabletop experience - that means no dice rolls, and spells that are more likely to borrow from the pen-and-paper ruleset than copy them directly.

Those spells will be key to multiple aspects of the game. Combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving will all rely on your ability to use your magical abilities, adapting and combining them to find your own solution. Invoke is keen to play up an immersive sim-style experience, and I'm reminded a little of the Magicka series, even if Warlock's production values sound a little bigger than that.

A far more traditional open-world adventure game than Baldur's Gate 3's take on D&D, Warlock will set you on a specific story, rather than letting you pick your own unique path. You'll be assigned a patron, for example, rather than getting to pick from the handful of different archetypes available in D&D itself. The team explains that it's "inspired" by the RPG's ruleset, but it's not trying to replicate those ideas. Instead, it's hoping to build on what D&D has done in the past, adding its own flavor to that experience.

For now, we've not seen much of how Warlock works, but we'll get a closer look in Summer 2026, ahead of a launch planned for 2027. If you can't wait that long, or if you're looking for a more traditional D&D experience, The Game Awards didn't feature just one D&D game, with Solasta 2's much more accurate interpretation of the rules also showing its face.

Check out our list of the best tabletop games to see just how much fun you can have with a box of dice.