Wizards of the Coast will purge the name Zak S from all future D&D Player’s Handbooks

The RPG community reacted in horror to the shocking abuse claims against Zak S and now Wizards of the Coast have joined in. Zak S was a playtester in D&D Next, that is the project which became the hugely popular Dungeons & Dragons 5, and WotC now regrets that decision.

They will purge his name from any future printing of the D&D Player’s Handbook.

In a statement today, Wizards of the Coast say;

Zak Smith, along with many others, was engaged by Wizards to provide feedback on D&D Next, the playtest which evolved into D&D fifth edition. We have not contracted with him since, and regret our choice to do so in 2014. Because of that, we are removing Zak’s credit from future physical printings and digital versions of the Player’s Handbook.

WotC go on to say that the support the planned Dungeon Masters Guild bundle raising funds to donate to RAINN.

The publisher finishes with a promise to learn from the community. They write;

We are grateful to be a part of this wonderful community, and we thank you for your passion. We remain committed to working with and learning from you, the D&D community. You may always share your comments and thoughts with us on our social media platforms and we are setting up an email address to receive feedback more directly.