The Future of D&D Insider...

Earlier today I received an email from D&D Insider customer service to inform me my subscription will renew soon.

I scanned the email quickly and saw that starting in March, D&D Insider will no longer be updated for 4th edition game content.

That's fine by me. I get that.

 If D&D Next is built the way it's been purported to be, then it should function on some level with 4e anyway. It is true from all I know about D&D Next that 4e will be the most orphaned of any existing edition so far once the new ruleset officially arrives. Still, the way we play here at home with 4e, it's quite simple to stick to adventure content and adjust monsters, npc, etc. on the fly and have a very enjoyable game. (Why many find this so complicated is still a mystery to me.) We rarely use any of the aspects from 4e that tend to slow it down—specifically all those powers, dailies, and such. I suspect it was those games-grinding-to-a-halt rules that were the catalyst for Next anyway. People, especially young new gamers, want easier rules so they can, you know, learn and play the game without a master's degree in accounting.

So the email stated specifically:

 As we look to the future launch of D&D Next, we are shifting our focus to the development and support of the new rules set, which will impact the Dungeons & Dragons Insider subscription service:

• DDI will remain available to those who still wish to access all the great 4th Edition Magazines and Tools as part of the DDI subscription.

• Starting in March of 2014, the DDI tool set (Character Builder, Adventure Tools and Compendium), will no longer be updated with new 4th Edition game content.

• Existing issues of Dungeon magazine and Dragon magazine will continue to be offered for viewing.

Seems legit. Still, I'm confused as to exactly if D&D Insider will have new content, tools, or magazines going forward for D&D Next, or not. The email is not that specific. It does say they are shifting their focus to the development and support of the new rules set. That gives me hope. It does not say specifically that D&D Insider will have new and exciting content on the horizon for D&D Next.

I hope this email is not some convoluted way of getting me to keep my current 4e content-based subscription for another year, only to have some new D&D Next subscription-based service surface on or around March. That would suck in a HUGE way. I also suspect this would piss off a lot of us.

I'll give Wizards the benefit of the doubt here. I did email them and ask specifically if D&D Insider will be updated and switching over or adding the D&D Next rules set. Or will it remain only as a service for 4e? Or will it be useful for both?

Their email is written in such a nebulous way that either instance could be inferred.

Again, I'll give Wizards the benefit of the doubt. For now.

Once I get a reply to my email I'll post the answer.

—A