Just revealed at The Game Awards, WARLOCK: DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is a new title set for release in a couple of years, but I think it's already given reason to be excited.
I got a chance to sit in on a Q&A session with devs very early at a press event last week ahead of tonight's reveal, and the Montreal-based team at Invoke Studios is looking to build "an immersive, single-player open-world experience" that's inspired by the universe of D&D.
Invoke is a newer team made up of developers who have worked on titles such as Far Cry, Watch_Dogs, Deus Ex, and Guardians of the Galaxy, including the Q&A participants studio founder Jeff Hattem and general manager Dominic Guay. And while they couldn't go into much detail because development is still early and ongoing, the team did have a lot of passion on display.
WARLOCK stars the titular character, whose name is Kaatri, and she is on a quest that's both "personal and urgent," according to the devs. The heroine will be voiced by Tricia Helfer, known in the nerd and gaming communities as Sarah Kerrigan in StarCraft II, EDI in Mass Effect, and Number Six in Battlestar Galactica.
“Working with our colleagues at Wizards of the Coast on a brand as rich as D&D has given the team the creative freedom and support to build a new ambitious open-world experience for players," said Guay in a press release. "We’re excited to finally announce WARLOCK and looking forward to sharing gameplay details in the future."
Players will "use clever spellcraft across all axes of the game, whether it's exploring the world, solving challenges, taking down monsters, and you do it all in your own creative way with all spells in all facets of the game," Hattem teased in the Q&A session.
While it's shrouded in secrecy for now, Invoke says the game "empowers players to use magic to overcome a wide range of challenges," such as in exploration where "every spell is a key unlocking new paths and possibilities in a beautiful yet unsettling world." Gameplay-wise, battling enemies features "magic and melee" that "combine for a combat experience that is both tactical and visceral."
Invoke said you don't need extensive D&D knowledge (or dice) to play WARLOCK since it's an open-world action game, but those who are familiar with the lore and the Warlock class will likely find even more excitement within. As for the game itself, it's not a choose-your-own-adventure, although you will have "agency" in what you do, as Kaatri and the game are based on a written story that also sports "a dynamic world that reacts to you."
The debut trailer is all there is to go off of by now, but Invoke promised a gameplay debut coming in the summer of 2026 before the full game launches in the following year. Judging by the teaser and experienced team on board behind the scenes, I think it's safe to look forward to hearing more about this one ahead of when it drops on PC, PS5, and Xbox.
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