Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins Exiting Dungeons & Dragons Team

Just under a week after Chris Perkins announced his retirement from Wizards of the Coast, another Dungeons & Dragons lead followed suit. As originally reported by ScreenRant, long-time game designer and one of the Lead Designers of D&D 5e, Jeremy Crawford, will also be retiring from Wizards of the Coast this year. Along with Chris Perkins, Jeremy Crawford has been one of the most recognizable names and faces associated with the brand for well over 20 years. Reportedly, Crawford will leave the Dungeons & Dragons team at the end of the month, marking the end of an era for the tabletop game.

Both Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford are familiar to fans for their frequent appearances in official Dungeons & Dragons videos covering new product releases and more. Naturally, that means that the news of their joint depatures certainly comes as a big shift for the franchise and its fans. The timing, however, certainly makes sense. Chris Perkins stepped into a more big-picture, Creative Director role just about a year before his retirement, while Crawford remained a Lead Designer for the 2024 5e rules revisions.

The new 2024 rules revision to D&D 5th edition is officially complete as of the Monster Manual release in February. In speaking with the Wizards of the Coast VP of Franchise and Product for Dungeons & Dragons, Jess Lanzillo, ScreenRant confirmed that this timing is intentional. Both Perkins and Crawford have been thinking about retirement for a while, and staying on through the massive 5e rules revision helps set up the next chapter for success.

What’s Next for D&D With Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford Leaving?

The legacy of Dungeons & Dragons is something its fans hold dear, and big changes to the team can make the future look uncertain. However, given the long-term planning for these retirements, it’s likely that Wizards of the Coast knows what’s next for the Dungeons & Dragons team with such major players headed out. Although two big names leaving at the same time is a massive shift, Wizards of the Coast says this is not part of an intentional restructuring. Both Perkins and Crawford are reportedly stepping away from Dungeons & Dragons as their own personal decisions.

As of now, no specific replacements have been confirmed for either Perkins or Crawford in their roles as Creative Director and Lead Designer, respectively. While the two were the leads for the core rulebook revisions, other Dungeons & Dragons team members are in charge of the rest of the roadmap for 2025 and beyond. So, projects already in the works have their leads already settled, taking away some of the urgency in filling some seriously big shoes.

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Some other longstanding Dungeons & Dragons designers, including James Wyatt, one of the leads for the upcoming Dragon Delves anthology, and Wes Schneider, remain with the team. So, while a good amount of experience will be lost as these two huge stewards of Dungeons & Dragons depart, newer members of the team do still have some veteran guidance in place.

It’s no secret that Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford with both be missed by the fans who’ve come to know them as a part of the Dungeons & Dragons brand over the years. They have done a great deal of work shaping D&D 5th edition into what it is today, and for that, players and DMs alike express our gratitude.