Oh for goodness' sake—D&D has early access periods and pre-order bonuses now, like a 3D model of a dragon for a virtual tabletop that doesn't exist yet

GamesDungeons & DragonsOh for goodness' sake—D&D has early access periods and pre-order bonuses now, like a 3D model of a dragon for a virtual tabletop that doesn’t exist yetWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

Adventurers from D&D�s revised ruleset Player�s Handbook do battle with kobolds, swords drawn, spells flying, dungeons? Dragon�d.

Dungeons & Dragons' 2024 rules overhaul—stuck awkwardly between “not a new edition” and design update—is en route.The 2024 rulesetwill be releasing its revamped Player Handbook on September 17, its Dungeon Master’s Guide November 11, and its Monster Manual February 18 2025.

As part of its debut, Wizards of the Coast has announced further details for its pre-order bonuses and, gee, that sure is a videogame DLC chart, huh.

Typically, when faced with this sort of thing, I’d come out swinging with some snarky jab—or break down its pros and cons in the interest of nuance. My reaction to looking at this thing, however, is as follows:

This sucks. We can all agree this sucks, right? As a baseline, ground-level, shared assumption?

I cannot imagine any TTRPG enthusiast staring at this thing and going, “gee willikers, I sure am looking forward to unlocking my two weeks early access with my D&D Beyond Master Tier subscription(™), complete with 34 digital frames for all my characters!” Oh, also, you get a 3D model of a gold dragon forD&D’s officially-licensed virtual tabletop, which fills me with dread and knowledge that, chances are, it’ll be just as much of a “big-budget misunderstanding” as I thought it’d be.

To properly lay out the pricing, which the chart doesn’t even really do beyond savings, pre-ordering the digital and physical versions of the Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual on the D&D Beyond storefrontindividuallywill run you around $80 a pop, or $240 total. The bundle, as advertised, costs around $180. That is indeed a saving of $60.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Now that Hasbro owns D&D Beyond, there’s really no reason that a book shouldn’t come with a code as standard—charge a subscription fee to use it, sure, but $10 extra for a PDF is nickel-and-diming. It does track that said PDF would arrive at your digital doorstep before the premium copy, but the “Early Access” period gated behind a few piddly extra dollars a month is a twist of the knife as well.

Ultimately, this smacks of a large company desperately trying so hard to treat tabletop gaming as a thing you can squeeze money out of like videogames—which tracks, because that’s exactly what Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said he wanted to dotwo years ago, aiming for “the type of recurrent spending you see in digital games”. Well, here it is.

I sorely hope this isn’t a preview of the next few years of annoying nonsense. Let’s just hope Hasbro doesn’thire the pinkertonsto pay me a visit for sharing an illicit, subscriptionless nu-PDF to my mate in 2040, when I assume I’ll need an Ultra subscription and a WizardsKey to jack into the Forgotten Realms via databank.

More about gamesWorld of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enoughThe Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcementsLatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

More about games

World of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enoughThe Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements

Image for World of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enough

World of Warcraft’s most recent patch soars with fun additions that last just long enough

The Sims 4 - a woman with red hair and a purple top exclaims with excitement

The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements

LatestThe Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in AprilSee more latest►

Latest

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

the last of us season 2 trailer

The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April

See more latest►

Most PopularMarvel Rivals' latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod sceneSorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our faultTeam Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40KIs the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anythingIf you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 offAMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fabI tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bayFinal Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their altsTikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ itMSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to afford

Most Popular

Marvel Rivals' latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene

Sorry everyone, Minecraft 2 is cancelled, and it might be our fault

Team Fortress 2 just had the single biggest trade in its history, with ‘the absolute best hat you can get’ going for around $40K

Is the new RTX 5070 really as fast as Nvidia’s previous flagship RTX 4090 GPU? Turns out the answer is yes. Kinda.

Elden Ring: Nightreign is getting a closed network test, and I’m totally not fuming because PC players aren’t invited to the party, or anything

If you’re a content creator and gamer looking for a CPU upgrade, this Ryzen 9 9900X deal will get you $90 off

AMD is now reportedly making all-American Ryzen 9000 CPU dies at TSMC’s Arizona fab

I tried a sim racing rig that generates ‘wind’ at CES 2025 and it’s claimed to help keep VR nausea at bay

Final Fantasy 14 communities panic as it turns out change to blacklisting, meant to help reduce stalking, also lets players use mods to track their alts

TikTok’s time in the US may be ticking to a close as it makes a last stand in the Supreme Court, though Trump now says he ‘opposes banning’ it

MSI intros cheaper ‘back connect’ Project Zero Intel motherboards for super-clean PC builds you might actually be able to afford

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals