Dungeons & Dragons’ recent creator summit didn’t go exactly as Wizards of the Coast had planned. During the summit, Dungeons & Dragons content creators changed the itinerary, turning it into a Wizards of the Coast barbecue.
Wizards of the Coast invited a group of prominent Dungeons & Dragons content creators, influencers, and third-party publishers to its Creator Summit on April 3rd. The event is scheduled to address a range of topics, including the future of One DD, Wizards of the Coast driving diversity and inclusion, and the new Dungeons & Dragons virtual table.
Indestructoboy, one of the leading whistleblowers responsible for exposing the Dungeons & Dragons OGL controversy, was one of those voices at the summit. As the event went on, it felt more like a press conference than a summit, which annoyed content creators. According to Indestructoboy, Wizards of the Coast executive producer Kyle Brinker gave vague, dismissive answers to questions from viewers. This culminated during the VTT demo, which moved entirely to a lengthy QA segment where content creators grilled Wizards of the Coast on their business practices.
After half an hour of tense discussions, Team Wizards of the Coast was firmly on the back foot, trying to wrap up QA. However, Dungeons & Dragons content creators at the summit voted unanimously to continue the conversation — even at the risk of missing out on some exclusive reveals about Wizards of the Coast’s plans. The meeting continued well past the allotted time and extended the summit itself by nearly three hours beyond its original schedule.
The first Dungeons & Dragons Creators Summit was chaotic, but not without fruit. Despite being disturbed by the backlash to its original itinerary, Wizards of the Coast eventually listened. Notably, Associate Influence Manager Dixon Dubow was brought in as a particularly helpful speaker, mediating between Wizards of the Coast and the assembled Influencers by providing clear answers. Likewise, some creators reported that staff approached them after the fact, asking what they could do to improve future events.
Fans are deeply divided over the outcome of the first Dungeons & Dragons Creators Summit. Some players felt that the dialogue opened the way for the future development of Wizards of the Coast, while others were angry at its attempts to corporatize the event. Regardless, this Creator Summit appears to be just 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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