The core Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks will receive new French, Italian, German, and Spanish editions later this year. D&D had its best-ever year of sales in 2020, with more than fifty million players around the world.
The exploding popularity of D&D can be attributed to the growing presence of streaming shows, but the hobby has grown in other ways in the past. There were lots of people who were first introduced to D&D through video games, like the original Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights. It wasn't always easy to find groups of players in the days before social media, so many people's experiences with D&D were limited to video games. Nowadays, it's a lot easier to find groups online, especially with the abundance of hobby stores in major cities that can host them. The fact that Wizards of the Coast (and TSR before them) is based in the US meant that the English-speaking audience was the one that was focused on the most, but international fans still received translated versions of the books.
Wizards of the Coast has announced new international editions of the main D&D rulebooks. The three core rulebooks (Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual), and the Essentials Kit will receive revised foreign language editions this year. The new French, Italian, German, and Spanish versions of those products will be available on September 24, 2021. The Core Rulebooks Gift Set will be released on October 19, 2021.
There are already international versions of the core rulebooks on the market, but these books will feature brand-new translations. It has been confirmed that the Spanish version of the book uses the vernacular used in Spain, rather than Latin American Spanish.
As the D&D franchise continues to grow, it will develop a bigger following for its multimedia ventures. There is already talk of the upcoming D&D movie being spun off into its own cinematic universe. The D&D video games will be kicking into high gear soon, with Dark Alliance being released this month, and the long-awaited Baldur's Gate 3 on the horizon. As D&D's global presence continues to grow, there will be more people wanting to check out the tabletop game in different territories, and international fans will soon be able to experience the hobby with improved versions of the main books.
The French, Italian, German, and Spanish versions of the core Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks and Essentials Kit will be released on September 24, 2021.
Source: Wizards of the Coast