The guiding forces of Dungeons & Dragons for the last decade are both departing Wizards of the Coast. Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford have been part of the Dungeons & Dragons design team for decades and were two of the lead designers of the game's current Fifth Edition ruleset, which has become the most popular ruleset in the game's history. Recently, Perkins became the Creative Director for Dungeons & Dragons, overseeing the story direction of the settings for both the game and other media, while Crawford became the Game Director, overseeing the rules for the game.

After leading the design of a new revised Fifth Edition and the new core rulebooks, both Perkins and Crawford are stepping away from Wizards of the Coast. Perkins announced his departure last week, and Screen Rant has learned that Crawford's last day will come later this month. Their departures mark a massive shift for Dungeons & Dragons, as the two were the primary shepherds of the game for over a decade and were the primary faces for the game in various videos discussing new products and rules changes in official marketing videos.

Why Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins Are Leaving Dungeons & Dragons Now

The Pair Are Departing On Their Own After Finishing New Core Rulebooks

Speaking to Screen Rant about the pair's departures from the company, Wizards of the Coast’s VP of Franchise and Product (Dungeons & Dragons) Jess Lanzillo said that this was something that the company had prepared for. "Both of them have been working on Dungeons and Dragons for a very long time," Lanzillo said. "It's been a point of discussion for some time and something that we've been training up everyone for. They feel really good about the teams that they have in place and the legacy that they're ing on."

The timing of their departure was also deliberate, as both waited for the newly revised core rulebooks to come out before leaving the D&D team. "They wanted to make sure that [the core rulebooks were really successful, that they were setting up all of the future leads for success," Lanzillo said. "That has happened, and they feel really reassured that the folks in place will be able to carry on with the wonderful legacy that they've given us, and then bring their own stuff to the table, which they've already been doing."

Screen Rant also confirmed with Lanzillo that both Perkins and Crawford's departures were on their and not part of some wider corporate move. "It's one of those things where you finished a major keystone creative project and you do ask yourself, 'Okay, do I have the next one in me for right now? Do I want to do something a little bit different?'" Lanzillo said. "I think any creative can identify with that."

Who Will Replace Jeremy Crawford And Chris Perkins On The D&D Team

No Direct Placements Were Named, But Existing Team Will Have A Bigger Space At The Table

In the immediate future, no one will directly step in to replace Crawford or Perkins. However, Lanzillo mentioned that James Wyatt and Wes Schneider, principal designers who have been part of the D&D team for years, will both have a "bigger place at the table." Lanzillo also mentioned that other designers, including Justice Arman, would also have progressive leadership roles as well.

Although the team is losing a combined 40+ years of experience with Perkins and Crawford's departures, other of the team have stepped up to serve as the project leads of other projects in recent years. Outside the new core rulebooks, other designers have been listed as the project lead for all of D&D's releases over the past two years.

According to Lanzillo, the D&D team is shifting to match existing team ' strengths. "Right now, we have folks in principal and lead roles that are escalating to take on more responsibility," Lanzillo said. "We're looking at the team and our needs and to figure out how to really construct the team in a way where we can work to everyone's strengths."

Will The D&D Roap Be Affected by Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford's Departure?

Imminent Departures Will Not Impact Plans For D&D's Future

Attending a press event earlier this year, the Dungeons & Dragons franchise team discussed a five-year plan for future releases. Lanzillo said that roap will not be impacted by any of the changes. "The roap remains the same," Lanzillo said. "We have already set up the leads for all of those future projects. Chris and Jeremy don't need any substitutes at this moment because they were both in very high-level roapping roles and capacities for the last year. They've been helping us gather that strategy, set it together, help us figure out the correct casting for everyone on particular efforts. We feel really good about it, and we're really happy that they're able to contribute to setting up that plan for the future."

Closing the interview, Lanzillo wanted to express her appreciation for all that Crawford and Perkins have brought to Dungeons & Dragons. "I ed the team a little over a year ago and working with Jeremy and Chris has been one of the privileges of my career," Lanzillo said. "They are fantastic people along with being just fantastic creatives. I've learned so much from them, and that goes the same for the rest of the team. They've just been so generous at sharing their decades of knowledge with us so that we can move forward in this moment and really kind of let other people step forward and bring their cool, new, weird ideas to the table as well."