Starbreeze Entertainment announced that it has acquired the Dungeons & Dragons license for use in their upcoming live-service co-op game, codenamed Project Baxter.
The Payday developer promises community engagement and a “larger than life experience.” They also bluntly attribute the Games as a Service tag, which is increasingly divisive among gamers. GaaS are often free-to-play, feature frequent updates, and offer seasonal battle passes, but they also require an online connection.
“It is hard to imagine a better pairing than Dungeons & Dragons and Starbreeze – both with their foundation in cooperative and community driven experiences, `play it your way’ and infinite replayability,” said Tobias Sjögren, CEO, Starbreeze. “When looking at prospective IPs for our future projects, Dungeons & Dragons was always at the top of our list and I’m incredibly happy to announce this license. I want to thank Wizards of the Coast for being such a great partner. Development of the game is in full swing, and we are excited to deliver an amazing Dungeons & Dragons action-adventure in 2026.”
It’s a bold choice for both Starbreeze and license-holder Wizards of the Coast. Starbreeze’s most recent game, Payday 3, launched to mixed reviews, and the online-only servers failed to keep up with the influx of players. To this day, Payday 2 still sports more players on Steam.
Meanwhile the D&D brand is experiencing a Golden Age of growth and prosperity. Fifth Edition has become incredibly popular, due in large part to streamers and live plays. Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the biggest video games of the year. And a newly updated edition will arrive in 2024, which also celebrates the tabletop RPG’s 50th anniversary.
