D&D General Weird "DnD Is Dead" Youtube Trend??

[EzekielRaiden]

Why? Why is yhis enough of a thing that whrn i watch any video from the official dnd channel i get recomended videos about how "dnd as we know it is over" and "all of dndbeyond was leaked" and stuff like that?

Did people just get hooked on the rage clicks during the OGL kerfluffle?

I've been around the block on this sort of thing for a while now, on various other entertainment-media subjects. I know what this is. This is a combo of trend-chasers trying to be trend-setters, and people reading tea leaves way ahead of any actual....developments.

So, you know me. You know I'm not going to give 5e a pass if I don't think it's (very) well-deserved. I don't think D&D 5e is dead. Instead, I think folks are correctly seeing the waning enthusiasm. I think folks are catching on to the very very very first blush, the first tiny inklings, that the proverbial "spark" isn't there anymore. Doesn't mean folks aren't having fun, lots still are, of that I have no doubt. Doesn't even mean the game isn't growing, it probably still is! But we have passed an inflection point.

The instant it looks like things are going Not So Well, the social media feeding frenzy begins, because being THE VERY FIRST to report on some controversial thing nets a creator money and attention.

Maybe--maybe--in another 2-3 years, we'll be seeing this in a much more serious and meaningful way. For now, just view this like tabloid magazines pontificating about allegedly-explosive exclusive reveals...90%+ of which are at best the result of someone casting molehills to mountains, and at worst outright intentional and knowing bovine feces. For the time being? Just means we're hitting the natural and expected slowing-down period after an edition has passed its peak. Which...should not be a surprise to anyone given we now have 5.5e and it is being openly called 5.5e now.

 

[Laurefindel]

There is at least one youtuber that has been saying this for years and years now. Long slow spiral into doom.

Ironic. If it takes years and years, it’s not really dead isn’t it!

 

[UnplayedRanger]

Social media algorithms love feeding off of negativity more than positivity. Really speaks to the nature of the human race.

 

[bergec]

Assertions that "D&D is dead" have been going nearly non-stop during the entirety of my life and I've been playing D&D since '83. They peak immediately after new editions.

 

[Parmandur]

There is at least one youtuber that has been saying this for years and years now. Long slow spiral into doom.

 

[Lakesidefantasy]

Why? Why is yhis enough of a thing that whrn i watch any video from the official dnd channel i get recomended videos about how "dnd as we know it is over" and "all of dndbeyond was leaked" and stuff like that?

Did people just get hooked on the rage clicks during the OGL kerfluffle?

I think this latest wave of outrage came out in response to the WoTC Continues D&Ds Advance to a Digital First Brand (link below).

D&D General Thread 'WotC Continues D&D's Advance To Digital First Brand'

Feb 10, 2026

It's been apparent for some time that Dungeons & Dragons is moving towards a digital-first brand, centered around D&D Beyond, accompanied by a larger a shift into IP and lifestyle property.

D&D has had cartoons, toys, comics, and so on for decades, so this is not new, but the focus on these IP-based licenses appears to be gowing.

In Hasbro's latest earnings call, CEO Chris Cocks notes that the company -- by which he is referring to Hasbro, WotC, and their digital studio teams -- "delighted more than 1 billion kids, families and fans, secured...

• Morrus
• Replies: 173
• Forum: *Dungeons & Dragons

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[Charlaquin]

Why? Why is yhis enough of a thing that whrn i watch any video from the official dnd channel i get recomended videos about how "dnd as we know it is over" and "all of dndbeyond was leaked" and stuff like that?

Did people just get hooked on the rage clicks during the OGL kerfluffle?

D&D YouTube has been struggling lately. A lot of creators blame it on changes to the algorithms, but personally I suspect that between the OGLpocalypse and the fracturing of the 5e fanbase in it’s aftermath, there’s just less demand for D&D YouTube content than there was between 2020 and 2024.

 

[sevenbastard]

D&D is dead long live AD&D!!!!

 

[Parmandur]

D&D YouTube has been struggling lately. A lot of creators blame it on changes to the algorithms, but personally I suspect that between the OGLpocalypse and the fracturing of the 5e fanbase in it’s aftermath, there’s just less demand for D&D YouTube content than there was between 2020 and 2024.

Well, also...at a certain point, there may be diminishing returns for "DM advise" content.

 

[bedir than]

Well, also...at a certain point, there may be diminishing returns for "DM advise" content.

Luke Gygax to Dan Ayoub: There's what 50 million players now?
Dan: Many more than that.

If your DM Advice content can't be relevant to a game that is growing by the millions still that's a creator problem, not a D&D problem