D&D and 5E Have Lost a Lot

I swear, D&D and 5E have lost a lot of players. From the interest levels I see, the views of YouTube D&D content, views, impressions here, and everything else across the board, the market is way down.

Nobody wants it.

Even the 5E clones are having a hard time. Those who were betrayed did not come back. Other games took off. Shadowdark took the mantle. Many walked away from roleplaying.

I explained a few factors behind the split in the community, and some in my group bailed.

Right.

It is "fun" playing D&D.

A divided game and community sucks.

There are the die-hard D&D Beyond-ers and a few who hang on as influencers. Many in my group have no money to buy new books. Wizards killed the golden goose, and the leaders left. It is becoming a D&D Beyond game, and the holdouts keep it alive.

I had high hopes for Tales of the Valiant. However, the name and the art are minor issues in an otherwise solid game. If it is a battle on design, Level Up Advanced 5E will win every time.

The OSR is better than most games in the 5E sphere. It has less drama and solid nostalgia. It is also less expensive and has higher-quality game rules. I can get complete, high-quality PDFs of many OSR games for free and start tonight.