Orcs have been a part of D&D for a long time, existing as a common threat that is faced by low-level parties. As time went on, the orcs became more fleshed out, with some campaign settings showing orcs creating their own civilizations, albeit ones with frosty relationships with humans and elves. There are some orcs who went on to become major characters in D&D lore, with King Obould Many-Arrows in the Forgotten Realms being one of the few people to ever defeat the legendary D&D hero Drizzt Do'Urden in battle.

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The D&D 5.5 update will involve new versions of the three core rulebooks: the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual. The current version of the Player's Handbook features the half-orcs as a playable race option, these being the offspring of human and orc parents. There are some D&D 5e sourcebooks that provide playable versions of the orc, but now they're going to become part of the central rules.

Orcs Will be One Of The Playable Race Options In D&D 5.5

The latest Unearthed Arcana article on Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse in of abilities. The reason given for this change is that orcs have been a part of the game for so long and that so many players choose to play as them that it made sense to bump them up and put them into the Player's Handbook.

This new Unearthed Arcana has also changed how the half-orc and half-elf function, as there is now a section dedicated to creating a character with parents from different races, allowing them to select traits from both parents. There are a lot of changes coming in the D&D 5.5 update when it comes to character creation, giving players far more options than they had before. The D&D 5.5 playable races are officially being overhauled, which means big things for the future of Dungeons & Dragons.

Source: D&D Beyond