D&D 5.5E Overexposed?

With Vampire 5.5E coming, along with GI Joe, Transformers, and Power Rangers, now I am starting to get a little worried. D&D 5.5E may become overexposed, with a glut of games on the market, and it may implode in a huge market crash. Don't forget Traveller 5E, either.

Will there be a "tipping point" for "too much 5.5E?"

Pretty soon, we will probably see a glut of classic gaming titles rewriting themselves for 5.5E. I could pick any of them, such as TORG, Paranoia, Shadowrun, Earthdawn, and many others. Okay, I take one of those back, Shadowrun 5.5E, I would actually buy, since it would be nice to have standardized rules that were 5E compatible. Then again, I have Ultramodern 5 for that, and that version of 5E is very cool. UM5 is Shadowrun 5E to me, just add fantasy races and monsters, and you are there, plus some.

Then again, UM5.5E would be nice to see. Why not jump in? Sales are sales. Then again, the market here is niche, and unless you are releasing on D&D Beyond, just leave it be. UM5 is so heavily modded that nothing may change for a 5.5E update.

But I foresee a point where the 5.5E gets wildly overexposed, and then, at that moment, Wizards announces 6E, and the entire industry is stuck a version behind the market leader. Nobody wants to rebuy it all again, and the market crashes.

This is another reason to avoid 5.5E and the New Coke edition and stick with what works. I am happy with ToV and my 10-year shelf of 5E books. At best, 5.5E is the "rules update" that you use with your D&D 2014 monster manual. The rule changes are minor. If you can't doublecast? Yeah, you are in a 5.5E game.

You know, third-party bestiary writers... rewriting the D&D 2014 Monster Manual for the 2024 rules with 5.5E design goals, and representing the classic monsters as they were - would be a very compelling thing. Enhance that with special versions of orcs, lizardfolk, and other classics, and you would have a great book on your hands. The "Old School Monster Manual" would likely sell very well and go a long way to removing the New Coke aftertaste of this edition. Just saying.

But with so many 5.5E books coming out, I feel we are heading into a market glut. The crowdfunding projects will overwhelm us with a tidal wave of 5.5E recreations. And we will be left with shelves of books, and no time to play with them. Then, the market will crash.

I do get the feeling that too many eggs are in one basket, but if 90% of the market won't play anything else, what else can you do?