When Did D&D Come Out & Who Invented It? Explained
gamepur.comDungeons & Dragons has a complicated history, filled with various editions that have overhauled the rules, controversies that have risked shutting the game down, and multimedia products that have altered the identity of its lore. This raises the question of how it all began, as D&D was the game that birthed the tabletop RPG genre for the general public, yet most people are only familiar with its latest iteration.
There are D&D fans who were introduced to the game through different means. Some came to D&D through its video games, like Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights, while others first heard of it through its animated series, shows like Critical Role, or movies like Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The game’s origins predate these projects by decades, as it will soon be celebrating its 50th anniversary, with the D&D fifth edition rulebooks being revamped in 2024.
Related: Best character sheets for Dungeons & Dragons (5th Edition)
Who Created D&D & When Did They Do It?Dungeons & Dragons was created by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax in 1974, under a company called TSR, which stood for Tactical Studies Rules. What’s interesting about the release date is that no one knows precisely when the first edition was released outside of its release year. This will give Wizards of the Coast a lot of leeway during the 50th-anniversary celebrations, as it can be spread across an entire year.
The history of the pre-third edition era of D&D is complicated, with Arneson and Gygax creating their own versions of the game and eventually entering legal action against each other. When Wizards of the Coast bought TSR in 1997, they took over ownership of D&D, with the third edition being developed by the company and released in 2000.
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