DnD publisher Wizards of the Coast has been inviting tabletop RPG influencers to a new, all expenses paid D&D Content Creator Summit, and social media has been abuzz with chat about who is and isn’t going.
Email invites have been sent out to numerous DnD content creators this week about the event, which is going to be held at Wizard of the Coast’s office in Bellevue, Washington on April 3.
The email sent to content creators has been widely shared, for instance by YouTubers Bob the Worldbuilder and Nerd Immersion. According to the invitation, the event will allow community figures to “ask questions, give feedback and connect with members of our Studio and Content teams.”
Attendees will get to chat to creators of the tabletop roleplaying game, and also get to learn about the next D&D rules update, and experience the D&D Virtual Tabletop that’s currently in the works. The email states that influencers will have their travel, food, accommodation, and ‘per diem’ costs covered, and there are “no content requirements”, with Wizards adding that it doesn’t plan to take any footage or photographs of the event.
However, the message also assures that nothing shared will be secret or under any kind of NDA, so there’s obviously an expectation that creators will want to share the information presented to them with their fans.
DnD Twitter is consumed with talk about this Content Creator Summit and what it means for Wizards, with many focusing on who was and who wasn’t invited. For instance, creator DnD Shorts tweeted that after his criticisms of Wizards during the DnD OGL debacle “It is unlikely I’ll ever be “invited in” by the company”, though he adds that he’s “extremely happy Wizards are reaching out to creators.”
Other commentators are less sanguine – for instance, Gizmodo journalist Linda Codega said on Twitter that the guest list shows Wizards “do not want real critique from people who aren’t looking for their approval”.