Dungeons and Dragons’recent Creator Summit didn’t go quite as planned by Wizards of the Coast. During the summit,Dungeons and Dragonscontent creators derailed the itinerary, transforming it into a roast of Wizards of the Coast.
Wizards of the Coast invited a group of noteworthyDungeons and Dragonscontent creators, influencers, and third-party publishers to a Creator Summit held on April 3. The event planned to discuss a number of topics including the future ofOne D&D, Wizards of the Coast’s push towards diversity and inclusion, and thenewDungeons and Dragonsvirtual tabletop.
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Indestructoboy, one of the major whistleblowersresponsible for revealing the OGL controversy withDungeons and Dragons, was one of these voices at the summit. As the event progressed, it played out more like a press release than a summit, causing content creators to become irritated. According to Indestructoboy, Wizards of the Coast executive producer Kyle Brink gave evasive, dismissive answers to questions raised by the audience. This came to a head during the VTT demonstration, where the presentation fully devolved into a lengthy Q&A segment where content creators grilled Wizards of the Coast on its business practices.
Firmly on its back foot, Wizards of the Coast tried to bring an end to the Q&A after a tense half-hour discussion. However, theDungeons and Dragonscontent creatorsat the summit unanimously voted to continue the conversation–even at the risk of missing out on some of the exclusive reveals Wizards of the Coast had planned. The session continued well past the allotted time, and pushed the summit itself to last nearly three hours longer than it was supposed to.
The firstDungeons and DragonsCreator Summit was messy, but not unproductive. Though disquieted by the severe reaction to its original itinerary, Wizards of the Coast ultimately did listen. Notably, associate influencer manager Dixon Dubow was named as a particularly helpful speaker, who mediated between Wizards of the Coast and the gathered influences by offering definitive answers. Likewise, several creators reported staff members approaching them afterward, asking what they could do differently to improve future events.
Fans are firmly divided on the results of the firstDungeons and DragonsCreator Summit. Some players think the dialogue opened the path forfuture growth with Wizards of the Coast, while others are angry at its attempts to corporatize the event. Regardless, it seems this Creator Summit was only the first of many, so players will have to see how Wizards of the Coast handles similar events in the future.
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