D&D General Adam Bradford, Lauren Urban, Todd Kenrick Leave D&D Beyond

They join lead writer James Haeck, who left a couple of weeks ago. Adam Bradford is the D&D Beyond co-founder, and VP of Tabletop Gaming at its owner, Fandom. Lauren Urban is DDB's Community Manager. Todd Kenrick is the company's Creative Manager.

D&D Beyond, launched in 2017, is currently owned by Fandom (previously known as Wikia), after it acquired the company in 2018 from previous owner Curse, a Twitch subsidiary.

According to Cam Banks, creator of DDB owner Fandom's Cortex, all three received offers elsewhere which they could not turn down.

 

[Azzy]

So much speculation in this thread - some of it has been entertaining, some head-scratching.

I'll set the record straight on a few things:

• The decision for the three of us to leave was 100% voluntary - no one was let go. We all found new opportunities at roughly the same time, and Fandom decided to simultaneously share our departures with the public.
• I can't speak for Todd and Lauren, but we are not all going to the same place.
• I believe that Todd and Lauren are gong to be sharing more in the next week or two. It will be a little longer than that for me because of announcement timing.
• Although I can't go into detail yet about where I'm going next, I’m terribly excited to be getting in on the ground floor at a technology startup in the tabletop space. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for me and the family.

As I started thinking about life after Fandom several months ago, I knew for whatever I did next, I wanted to set my family up so I can spend my last fifteen to twenty years of working doing whatever I want to do - self publish comics, open a pub, or start a theatrical production company - and this opportunity has a great chance of getting me there. So, it was nigh impossible for me to say no. And I'll also still be moving and shaking in the TRPG space in some exciting to work on ways.

Starting D&D Beyond, creating and driving the vision, and leading the team over the last few years has been a true privilege. We succeeded at digital support in a way that no one has yet been able to do, which will absolutely make things better for future attempts to support these games we love so much.

Cheers!

I'll miss you on D&D Beyond, but will look forward to see what your next endeavor is.

 

[Azzy]

They. Still. Sponser. Critical Role.

Never let facts get in the way of a conspiracy theory.

 

[Dausuul]

Cortex Prime is a game designer's dream rpg if they want a true rpg game design toolbox. Unless you are playing one of the premade Cortex Games you have to build your own game using the options in the Cortex Prime main book.

Game designers are a niche within a niche. You can't make money selling to them.

In the tabletop RPG market, there is "Dungeons & Dragons," and there is "not Dungeons & Dragons." The second category--all of it put together--almost certainly sells less than the first. That includes Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu, Shadowrun, every TRPG in existence other than the 800-pound gorilla.

@darjr is right. D&D Beyond is the golden goose, no matter how hefty the licensing fees. Cortex Prime is a copper pigeon.

 

[Burnside]

Are you sure you aren't confusing it with Fandom Sports Media?

Fandom, Inc. is privately held. It has no stock price because it is not a publicly-traded company.

Fandom Sports Media Corp, which has nothing to do with DDB or Wikia, is trading at about $0.17 a share.

I totally confused them - thank you!

 

[jgsugden]

They. Still. Sponser. Critical Role.

They do - some weeks. However, they have been off the slate quite often, and they cut back from being the primary sponsor on the nights when they are still there. Either other companies are paying more to get the prime sponsor spot (and given who has been getting it recently, this is very unlikely), or D&DB is giving CR less.

 

[darjr]

They do - some weeks. However, they have been off the slate quite often, and they cut back from being the primary sponsor on the nights when they are still there. Either other companies are paying more to get the prime sponsor spot (and given who has been getting it recently, this is very unlikely), or D&DB is giving CR less.

This thread isn’t really that long.

from this post in this thread

D&D General - Adam Bradford, Lauren Urban, Todd Kenrick Leave D&D Beyond

 

[Mathizsias]

Those writing essays on 6e; its not going to happen unless Hasbro/WotC is bought by some other company or has a managerial shift in the upper echelons. The relation to those leaving DDB is still a fantasy..

 

[CubicsRube]

I know. I just think it's a dumb and misleading joke. (No offense to @Zardnaar, though.)

Whereas I thought it was a great joke.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Those writing essays on 6e; its not going to happen unless Hasbro/WotC is bought by some other company or has a managerial shift in the upper echelons.

The 50th anniversary is happening in 2024. They are not going to let that merchandising opportunity go by. And while shirts and commemorative dice are all well and good, the big money is in things like an updated Arts & Arcana book and especially a new set of core books. It's possible those books might be a straight version of 5E with errata and refreshed covers, but that's not going to get many people other than the hardcore collectors. A 5.5E or 6E will bring in a ton more money.

A 50th anniversary edition of the game with a refreshed ruleset can get almost every D&D player's money, especially combined with aggressive marketing and PR campaigns.

Given that Hasbro does anniversary editions of all sorts of games with much less mindshare and a lower price per product, I can't see them letting the 50th anniversary pass them by.

 

[jgsugden]

This thread isn’t really that long.

from this post in this thread

D&D General - Adam Bradford, Lauren Urban, Todd Kenrick Leave D&D Beyond
View attachment 132256

Yeah - What that says is exactly why people are bringing this up: They cut back their spending on Critical Role advertising, and thus do not get the top of the show bit from Riegel. Others are getting the top bill - and those folks do not have the resources of D&DB. Generally speaking, companies cutting back on their advertising is not a great sign. It is no shock that they don't want people reading anything into it. Whether it meant nothing or was a clear sign of the apocalypse, they'd have that exact same desire. When you add that to the generally bad sign of so many public figures from the company leaving all at once - it says there MAY be cause for concern in our investment in the companies products. It could be a sign that they expect to have significant troubles this year.

On the other hand, it may all just be coincidence and poor PR practices.