Dungeons & Dragons just can't seem to catch a break. First Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, now this—Jess Lanzillo, previously the vice president of franchise and product for D&D, has also moved on to another TTRPG after leaving the company mid-June.
While not as senior as the two big names I just mentioned, Lanzillo nonetheless worked for Wizards of the Coast for eight years—several of which were spent on Magic: The Gathering as a franchise creative director. Now, White Wolf has snapped her up.
Per a press release sent to PC Gamer, Lanzillo will be the creative director for World of Darkness, the TTRPG franchise that brought you Vampire: The Masquerade (and the Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines game, alongside Troika). She seems pretty excited, all told.
Lanzillo writes: “World of Darkness has been my creative north star since the '90s, and I've seen firsthand how these games create communities and inspire storytellers … My focus is on supporting and amplifying what makes these worlds special—the rich lore, the player agency, the mature themes—while ensuring they reach everyone who would love them."
White Wolf's executive vice president, Marco Behrmann, views snagging Lanzillo as part of the publisher's bold moves to expand: "Jess is a key pillar of our expanding studio, helping drive a strong and clear creative vision from the heart of our team. Her arrival underscores Paradox’s long-term commitment to White Wolf and our goal to make World of Darkness the number one horror entertainment brand in the world."
Name-dropping Paradox isn't definitely a hint that we'll be getting more World of Darkness videogames—White Wolf has already suggested we will—but it's also irrelevant. There's plenty of untapped territory there, seeing as the World of Darkness TTRPGs span a whole bunch of mythological underworld lore.
If I were Paradox, I'd definitely be eyeing up Werewolf: The Forsaken or Mage: The Awakening (White Wolf likes their colons) as potential springboards for different kinds of games—heck, maybe we'll get a Scion RPG. The superhero genre has been bone-dry, and playing a bunch of little godlings might scratch that itch.
Otherwise, it's been a rough time for D&D losing senior talent and core cast members. In the last two years alone, Hasbro has:
- Laid off 1,100 employees across Hasbro, including 5th edition co-designer Mike Mearls and Liz Schuh, who was at WoTC for over 28 years.
- This, by the way, led to a scenario where there was "almost nobody left" from the folks who helped make Baldur's Gate 3 happen.
- Tried and failed to launch Sigil, leading to more layoffs.
- Has had senior designers and directors Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford dip.
- Laid off Todd Kenreck, who'd been handling most of WoTC's video and social media presence.
I don't think it's a curtain call for D&D just yet—even though I think Hasbro's been fumbling the bag—but I can't help wondering if this shedding of talent to other systems signifies a drift away from Dungeons & Dragons' monolithic grip on the market. It'll probably still be the most-played TTRPG, mind, but with Critical Role making its own systems and Larian leaving Baldur's Gate 3 behind, the market feels ripe for some new competition. Or maybe I'm just on some Pathfinder 2e-fuelled copium, who's to say.
