Montreal-based developer Invoke Studios unveiled a new Dungeons & Dragons action-adventure game called Warlock.
In a cinematic teaser shown during The Game Awards 2025, we get a glimpse at the titular magician, Katri, as she conjures some spells amid classic D&D creatures like the Undead. While no gameplay was shown, the trailer confirmed a gameplay reveal is coming next summer, leading up to a 2027 launch. Canadian Tricia Helfer, who played EDI in the Mass Effect games, also came on stage to confirm she stars in the game.
Ahead of The Game Awards, MobileSyrup got to take part in a Q&A with Invoke to learn a bit more about the game. First off, it’s not an RPG like fellow D&D Baldur’s Gate 3, focusing instead on delivering a third-person action-adventure experience set in an open world. Jeff Hattem, Invoke’s VP of creative, says Warlock will allow players to use “immersive, expressive magic” across “all axes of the game,” including combat, exploration and puzzle-solving.
He notes that some examples of this can be seen in the trailer.
“From a spell standpoint, in the teaser, you saw a couple of spells — there’s black tentacles in there that you can use to kind of crowd control monsters. There’s also a gust of wind spell that you’re using to create some space. So it’s not always about damage. It’s also about the creative advantage that these spells can give you against monsters, traversing the world, solving puzzles, solving environmental challenges, and exploring the treacherous terrain,” says Hattem. “So the same spells are used in different ways, and it’s up to players to discover what those spell limits are and what they can do with them to their advantage.”
Invoke adds that while there are many D&D fans on the team, it’s not trying to recreate the tabletop experience, and there are no dice-rolling mechanics à la Baldur’s Gate. Instead, studio head Dominic Guay says the team is “heavily leaning into the lore and universe of D&D.”
The team itself also has an impressive pedigree that draws from talents of the larger Montreal gaming industry. Both Guay and Hattem previously worked at Ubisoft on various franchises, and they note that other members of their roughly 200-person studio have worked on games in the action-adventure, open-world and immersive genres.
In terms of story, Invoke isn’t revealing much yet, with Guay simply saying that Warlock focuses on a “personal and urgent” quest for Katri. D&D fans will also know that a warlock has a patron, a powerful, otherworldly being who grants their powers, and Invoke teased the importance of the relationship that Katri builds with her own patron over the story. Additionally, Invoke confirmed that you’ll only be controlling Katri, rather than an entire party, although they noted there will still be many other characters you’ll meet besides the patron.
While we wait for the summer 2026 gameplay reveal, Hattem suggested that fans look at the teaser more closely.
“I mentioned about how Warlocks make a pact. There’s references to that pact and magical spells, including rituals, and there are also some characters in there that have a double meaning,” he said. “So that’s what’s interesting that people can kind of look into.”
Image credit: Wizards of the Coast
