D&D Beyond

D&D Beyond was launched on August 15, 2017,[7][1][8] after an initial beta test that started on March 21, 2017.[8][9]

On December 12, 2018, Fandom, Inc. announced that it had acquired all of Curse LLC's media assets, including D&D Beyond, for an undisclosed amount.[5][6]

In June 2019, D&D Beyond added an Encounter Builder tool set which was open to subscribers for alpha testing.[10] Encounter Builder entered public beta testing in October 2019.[11]

In February 2020, D&D Beyond added a Combat Tracker which was open to subscribers for alpha testing.[12]

On March 25, 2020, Adam Bradford, Vice President of Tabletop Gaming at Fandom, told Syfy Wire that D&D Beyond's normal number of new users had doubled in the past two weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic and that there was also a "a similar increase in the number of active users".[13] In April 2020, The Wall Street Journal reported that "Bradford said the number of registered users has tripled in the past month, and the number of online players at any one time has doubled on average. The uptake has forced the company to accelerate the expansion of its infrastructure, which otherwise would have taken place months from now".[14]

D&D Beyond derives its income from digital content purchases (revenue from which is shared with Wizards of the Coast, which publishes the official Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition books), subscriptions, and advertising. Its tools are generally free to use, though some require an account (which can be made for free); however, viewing the full details of content from the official Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition books requires owning that content on D&D Beyond or having it shared with you. This content can be bought as a one-time purchase; buying a subscription does not grant access to any content.

D&D Beyond content and character management system is primarily browser-based, and is fully functional on both mobile and desktop browsers. DDB's website is continually updated, based largely on input from users throughout the community.

On March 4, 2018, D&D Beyond's mobile app was first released into beta testing, focused on providing an e-reader for official Dungeons & Dragons content.[27][28] The app allows compendium content for Dungeons & Dragons to be downloaded for offline use. Some users had criticized the app's lack of a character sheet or builder, which was one of the main offerings of D&D Beyond; however, DDB disclosed that character management functionality was planned.[29]

In a D&D Beyond development update stream on October 31, 2019, Adam Bradford discussed DDB's plans to develop two additional mobile apps focused on the player experience and the Dungeon Master experience respectively; he explained that character management functionality would be included in this new player app, leaving the existing mobile app as a reader for compendium content.[30] In March 2020, D&D Beyond opened up limited alpha testing for this player app to those current subscribers who signed up,[31] and the alpha test began the following month.[32]

Cecilia D'Anastasio, for Kotaku in 2017, wrote "when viewed as a toolset and not a replacement for D&D’s traditions, D&D Beyond is exactly the sort of digital facelift the game needs to stay accessible, streamlined and relevant". D'Anastasio highlighted one downside, which was that content from the DMs Guild is not automatically integrated with D&D Beyond.[33] Gavin Sheehan, for Bleeding Cool in 2017, highlighted the ability to make homebrew content in D&D Beyond. He wrote: "I absolutely loved D&D Beyond and can't imagine playing the game without it now. Sadly, the one thing that would make this perfect isn't here: a downloadable app. [...] The pricing will be the real dividing point for some people. [...] I can see people screaming that they don't get to own the material like you would a book. That's true, but considering you're paying to digitize all of this and make the game more mobile than it is… it becomes worth the cost".[34]

Gus Wezerek, for FiveThirtyEight, reported that of the 5th edition "class and race combinations per 100,000 characters that players created on D&D Beyond from" August 15 to September 15, 2017, fighters were the most created at 13,906 total followed by rogues (11,307) and wizards (9,855). Druids were the least created at 6,328 total. Wezerek wrote: "when I started playing 'Dungeons & Dragons' five years ago, I never would have chosen the game’s most popular match: the human fighter. There are already enough human fighters in movies, TV and books — my first character was an albino dragonborn sorcerer. But these days I can get behind the combo’s simplicity".[35]

Alex Walker, for Kotaku Australia in 2019, reported that two years after launch the D&D Beyond mobile app would be updated to include the ability to load character sheets. Walker wrote: "I can understand that the desktop D&D Beyond format isn't immediately compatible on mobiles. But getting character sheets working on mobile has been done before, and it's been done well. [...] Community managers have also pointed out to fans on the D&D Beyond forums that the Beyond site is fully responsive for mobiles, although that's reliant on internet access, and it's nowhere near as smooth or crisp as what an in-app experience would offer. But as admirable as the update is, this is also a feature everyone has been asking for since D&D Beyond was announced".[29]

Charlie Hall, for Polygon, reported that in March 2020 the cost of D&D Beyond's Legendary Bundle was $637.19. He highlighted that the cost of the digital Dungeons & Dragons source books and adventure modules are about the same as the physical books. Hall wrote: "my experience at the tabletop is better with these digital tools, but I’m not eager to effectively buy the same content twice to get access to them. In my experience D&D Beyond is a supplementary tool. My work as a DM still begins and ends with the physical books. [...] That makes the app a luxury for me, while the books are a necessity. Turns out I’m not alone. Many players are still defaulting to physical books".[18]

• Official website