Join The Community
Listen, I get it. In a world of set leaks and spoilers, it feels as though we know everything about anything long before it becomes available. That's why it's fair to be concerned about the apparent lack of D&D books in 2026. Nothing has been announced, so does that mean we aren't getting anything Dungeons & Dragons-related this year? Plenty of fans have raised eyebrows at this absence, but I don't think we need to hit the 'panic' button just yet.
For starters, it's not unusual for publisher Wizards of the Coast to release its slate early in the year. (That's exactly what happened last January.) What's more, the playtests that have been released over the past few months are telling. These usually relate to a product a few months down the road and help smooth out any rough edges ahead of launch, so it's possible to figure out which D&D books are heading our way if you dig into the details.
That's what I've been doing over the past few days, and I think I know what's coming to one of the best tabletop RPGs in 2026. That ranges from a horror icon to the return of a forgotten setting.
Yes, I might be off-base. But considering the evidence, there's reason to believe those theories may just hold weight.
D&D's Fallout, AKA Dark Sun (or a new post-apocalyptic setting)
Of all the possibilities for 2026 D&D books, this is the one I'm most confident about. Wizards released a playtest for 'apocalyptic subclasses' last year, with references to psionic power and Warlocks serving Sorcerer-Kings. Besides being a smoking gun in itself, that points us in one very specific direction: Dark Sun.
If that name doesn't mean anything to you, don't worry – the setting has been dead for years. Dark Sun takes place in a world killed by magic, with greedy spell-casters having damaged the ecosystem beyond repair. The remains are ruled by egotistical sorcerer-kings (!), with everyone else scrabbling around for scraps.
The result is more Mad Max than Forgotten Realms. Indeed, it flips fantasy tropes on their head or gives them a clever twist whenever possible. Arcane wizards are shunned as a result of magic's destructive power, and psionics are common among survivors. Mainstays like elves and halflings are a grim mockery of their usual selves, with the latter's traditional love of food being corrupted into cannibalism. Deities don't exist, so clerics make deals with elemental spirits instead.
If you want to find out more about Dark Sun, you'll need to hit DrivethruRPG for official modules - that's one of the only places you can get your hands on the books. As for readily-available modules that lean more towards Dark Sun's bleakness than high fantasy, it's worth checking out Eberron: Rising from the Last War ($34.98 at Amazon rather than $50). It isn't the same by any means, but it shares a more nihilistic outlook than the Forgotten Realms.
However, that's part of the reason why Dark Sun has been comatose for so long. Despite being very popular at the time, there are some… well, let's say problematic aspects baked into its lore. Having tribalistic, 'savage' cannibals is an obvious issue based on harmful stereotypes, as is a hybrid species bred for slavery. These would have to be stripped out or revamped in a thoughtful way for the setting to return (which clearly isn't out of the question, considering how heavily the playtest ties into that world).
Yes, Wizards of the Coast could avoid this headache entirely by making an all-new post-apocalyptic world. But Dark Sun has enough cache, to say nothing of potential, for me to see it being revamped with a setting and adventure book combo like the ones we saw for Spelljammer or Planescape. It's entirely different to anything in the D&D library right now, too.
Horror adventure, expansion, or a Curse of Strahd remaster
Thanks to the horror subclasses playtest that landed in 2025, we can say with some certainty that things are gonna get spooky this year. The "what" and "how" of all this remains murkier than a creature from the black lagoon, but I have a few ideas.
The most obvious (and potentially least-interesting) answer would be a reprinted Curse of Strahd adventure with extra goodies inside. 2026 just so happens to be the 10th anniversary of this hyper-popular story, so a revised version to mark the occasion doesn't seem outrageous. Especially because we saw something similar with Phandelver and Below almost a decade on from the starter set that inspired it.
So, what would this include? A host of new player options based on the playtest would be the obvious choice, with more emphasis given to how your adventurers can fit into a gothic world like Strahd's. I can see certain plot points or areas being expanded too, because a whole host of mods have sprung up since publication to tweak the story and certain, notoriously unbalanced encounters. Why shouldn't Wizards make improvements of their own?
Want to see what the fuss is about? You can get Curse of Strahd easily enough from Amazon, or delve into the wider world of horror with Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (which is $43.98 via Amazon at the moment).
The second possibility would be an expansion to Curse of Strahd or the Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft book, much like the recent Eberron add-on. Perhaps one that focuses on Strahd's home turf of Barovia? Although the adventure touches on its many regions, it doesn't delve into any with great detail.
I think the least likely option is an all-new adventure taking place somewhere else entirely (or following on from Curse of Strahd, as suggested by a colleague), though I'd welcome it as a breath of fresh air. This could even be an anthology release akin to Infinite Staircase or Dragon Delves, though it's more unusual for those to feature player character options.
In other words, there should be plenty we can look forward to in 2026 – and I imagine these won't be the only D&D books launching this year.
For more tabletop recommendations, why not try the best board games or the best card games?
