Warlock: the new D&D game you can play without knowing D&D

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Warlock, the next big D&D game after 2023's Baldur's Gate 3, made a big splash at this week's Gamescom Opening Night Live 2026 , straight-up spoiling RPG nerds with a nearly ten-minute showcase including breathtaking cinematics as well as combat and exploration-focused gameplay. And while there's zero doubt Warlock is a D&D game through and through, featuring an original story pulled from established lore, developer Invoked Studios is very much designing the game as a standalone RPG bearing the developer's unique trademark.

"We're working really closely with the TTRPG folks as well as Wizards of the Coast to try and see how we can bring our own secret sauce to the game," Warlock creative director Jeffrey Hattem tells GamesRadar+ during Gamescom 2026 .

"We're not just there, right? We respect the brand of D&D. We're building on the shoulders of giants, obviously. It's a 50-plus year game that has a collaboration of many storytellers, writers, artists, and we're looking to put our own contribution to the world of D&D as well. We're adding new spells as well. It's not just what you're typically expecting."

In the same interview, Hattem made a point to distance Warlock from Baldur's Gate 3 despite calling Larian's award-winning RPG "a great game" and expressing anticipation for Divinity. He also confirmed you'll be able to enjoy Warlock completely without any previous knowledge of D&D, which is great to hear as someone whose only experience with the franchise is Baldur's Gate.

"We're building a game that is intended for players that could have never played Dungeons and Dragons," he says. "It's not required to come in. [Protagonist] Kaatri is a stranger in a strange land ... players can go along that journey with her as well at the same time and learn what they need to know, but if you're a fan of D&D, I hope that you're going to find a lot of Easter eggs and secrets and realizations of things that you would expect and find familiar as well."

Warlock escapes Baldur's Gate 3's long shadow with a very different take on D&D that I'm happy to roll my dice on