Summary
Wizards of the Coast has laid off 90% of the team responsible for releasingSigil, the official newDungeons and Dragonsvirtual tabletop. After a flawed release, the scope of theDungeons and Dragonsproject has been drastically reduced, leading to the loss of approximately 30 of the developers on the small team.
In 2023,Dungeons and DragonsrevealedSigil, an official virtual tabletop withD&D Beyondintegration, customizable characters and maps, and graphics rendered using the Unreal Engine 5 to bring campaigns to life. Unfortunately, the visually-stunning-yet-incomplete product that quietly launched on February 27 was a far cry from the “MinecraftofD&D, or theRobloxfor tabletop gaming” that was advertised, leading many to puzzle over the project’s future.
Now, some substantial layoffs have confirmed thatSigilwill never reach its full potential.According to a LinkedIn post bySigilsenior writer, game designer, and team leader Andy Collins, around 30 developers – or 90% of his team – were laid off by Wizards of the Coast, including himself. This leaves only a handful of developers maintaining the project, which has drastically reduced its scope.
Dungeons and Dragons Loses 90% of the Sigil Team
Polygon also shared an email fromDungeons and Dragonssenior vice presidentDan Rawson, which was sent to all employees regarding the layoffs. “After several months of alpha testing, we’ve concluded that our aspirations forSigilas a large, standalone game with a distinct monetization path will not be realized.” He went on to announce the layoffs, confirming thatSigilitself will transition into an integratedD&D Beyondfeature, maintained by “a small team to sustainSigiland release products already developed at no additional cost to users.” While it sounds likeSigilwill continue to be available toDungeons and Dragonsplayers, the project itself is essentially on life support.
After several months of alpha testing, we’ve concluded that our aspirations forSigilas a large, standalone game with a distinct monetization path will not be realized.
Luckily, those who were let go from the project are receiving severance packages and bonuses from 2024. Rawson also confirmed it was offering career placement services, and in some cases, opportunities elsewhere withinWizards of the Coast to developers impacted by these layoffs.
Many fans are disappointed to see bad news forSigil. The program itself is gorgeous, with dynamic lighting and textureson par withDungeons and Dragonsvideo games likeBaldur’s Gate 3. However, missing races and class features, buggy combat, incompleteD&D Beyondintegration, and limited customization options for both characters and maps makeSigilclunky to use at best, or downright impossible at worst. It is a shame to learn thatSigilwill never live up to the lofty expectations it set, but hopefully, the remaining development team can salvage it into something useful for players who enjoy it.
