D&D finally gives up and agrees to call 2024 rules 5.5e after insisting it wouldn't

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About time

Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook standing on a wooden table beside dice, a candle, and the 2014 Player's Handbook
(Image credit: Benjamin Abbott)

Following two years of swearing blind that the D&D 2024 rules update wasn't 5.5e, D&D Beyond (the game's online home) has come out to say… yeah, it's totally 5.5e.

In an FAQ discussing the matter, D&D Beyond has announced that it'll be referring to content from 2024 onward as "5.5e," because this lines up with what the community is already doing. More specifically, the site claims that this move matches "how the community already talks about the game and made things easier to understand." While the FAQ is quick to point out that this isn't a branding change for one of the best tabletop RPGs as a whole, it does feel a bit like the game is throwing in the towel and saying "OK, you win."

Hey, what's the difference anyway?

D&D Player's Handbook laid out on a wooden surface

(Image credit: Future/Benjamin Abbott)

Feeling confused at all this talk of "5.5e?" Basically, it refers to the current edition of Dungeons & Dragons. A 2014 rules revamp kicked off the game's Fifth Edition, and this was abbreviated to "5e." These rules were then updated, but not completely changed, in 2024 with a whole new raft of core rulebooks (which are now the main ones sold at the likes of Amazon). However, this wasn't an entirely new edition; it served more as a stepping stone or, if you prefer to talk tech, a "0.5" update, hence the community nickname "5.5e."

Honestly, it's about time. Fifth Edition D&D began in 2014, and with the 2024 update that modified a host of rules across the game but didn't completely overhaul it, fans immediately dubbed the change 5.5e. However, publisher Wizards of the Coast was adamant that wasn't the case. This was still good ol' 5e and most certainly wasn't a new edition, it insisted. No, siree.

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I appreciate why Wizards took that stance, presumably due to a fear of confusing or alienating newcomers, but for me, it always felt as though it was pushing against the tide or demanding time went backwards. Especially because it just makes sense – D&D 2024 always felt like a halfway house to a new edition, so 5.5e fits. Battling that always felt like a lost cause.

Will this mean we'll eventually get Wizards itself referring to D&D 2024 as 5.5e? Presumably not for the foreseeable future, but hey – stranger things have happened, as evidenced by many of the D&D reveals at GAMA 2026.

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Benjamin Abbott
Benjamin Abbott
Tabletop & Merch Editor

I've been writing about games in one form or another since 2012, but these days you'll find me managing GamesRadar+'s tabletop gaming and toy coverage (I spend my time here handling everything from board game reviews to the latest Lego news). I've also been obsessed with Warhammer since the 1990s, and love nothing more than running tabletop RPGs like D&D as a Dungeon Master.

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