A man stands in a small, dank, stone room. His shoulders hunched, demeanor defeated and aching despite the celebratory sounds of fireworks heard through thick layers of earth outside. His fingers rest on a crude button set shallowly into the rock face in front of him. Across the walls are tacked crumpled pieces of paper and signs, poetic words made illegible by frantic, scrambled handwriting. He mutters to himself, conflicted, then screams into the silence.
“What are you doing?” A cool voice sounds from behind him. Warmth bitten with anticipatory restraint. A father, admired and as such distant, is there when the man turns. He stammers, tries to explain his antics but it is plain to see how affected he is. The madness in his eyes.
The father attempts to console him, but it is no use.
“There was a saying, by a traitor… It was never meant to be.” The man’s movements are swift and sure for the first time in years, his hand deftly pressing the button into a depress, then coming to rest in a salute as he turns back to look at his father. The sizzle of a building fuse, followed by scrambling and popping is heard as all at once, dozens of pounds of explosives ignite. The father runs toward his son, but watches as the walls crumble around them, letting cracks of sunlight and sprays of disrupted water fill the air.1
Most people who are at least moderately online in the past few years have heard of the Dream Team Survival Multiplayer Server2—known casually as the DreamSMP or simply DSMP. From the variety of creators it includes to the vast online fanbases it spawned, the Minecraft server changed the way many people enjoyed entertainment in the past half-decade. But what is it? It’s often the butt of jokes, “cringe compilations,” ego-fueled jabs at “obsessed fangirls.” Few people acknowledge the media itself, due to either associations with the creators involved or a degradation of the material due to its presence as a Minecraft server, and even fewer look at the media retrospectively with a critical lens. Through its format, story, and the lasting ripples of its fanbase, the DreamSMP revolutionized online storytelling, and changed the way many current young people think about improvisation and roleplay storytelling.
So what is the DreamSMP? It’s, as mentioned, a topic that is beat down endlessly in modern culture, especially due to its fanbase’s female-dominated nature—a surefire way to spark the well-known, sexism-fueled hatred demographically waged on certain fandoms. But didn’t it have a story? The endless art, animations, cosplay content and popular fan fictions tend to promote this idea. How could it?
Twitch as a platform has been around since 2011, but it exploded in popularity over the pandemic, continuing an upward trend in activity. In 2021, 140 million monthly users3 were documented, split between streamers and viewers. The streaming service is most popular among video gamers, and following the success of previous Minecraft Servers like SMPLive, SMPEarth, and many others, the DreamSMP had a solid foundation of active users. From its inception in April of 2020, the server had a founding group of fans through the regular chatters of GeorgeNotFound, DreamWasTaken, BadBoyHalo and Sapnap’s original viewers, but also quickly gained popularity through the friend group’s easygoing demeanor and early additions.
The arrival of streamers TommyInnit, Tubbo, and WilburSoot were significant moments in the server’s early days, as they kickstarted the main element the world is known for: its extensive and expanding plot. In essence, though it did not begin this way, by the midpoint of the server, each streamer had a character sharing their name within the world, with faction alignments, allies, and enemies separate from the content creator. Each character within the plot had their own storyline, which added to the general perception of the plot as overly convoluted and elaborate. The uniqueness in a storytelling method like this, however, is the variety of tales within a viewer’s reach, ensuring preferences for stylistic choices, acting methods, and plotlines were fulfilled effortlessly, just due to the varied perspectives.
So what were these plotlines? There’s too many to entirely recap in this format, but the story of L’Manberg, a faction which began the story’s overall plot, begins in a van in the woods. Newcomer Wilbur Soot teams with fellow streamers TommyInnit, Fundy, Tubbo, and Eret to create a separate “nation” from the general Dream SMP, in a revolution reminiscent of the American separation from Europe—specifically as depicted by the Hamilton musical, a piece of media referenced jokingly many times throughout this arc. In the resulting conflict, the five members put up a stand against the majority of the existing server, gaining significant headway until they are betrayed by one of their own, Eret. In the resulting days, much is lost, won, and bartered, but the nation is ultimately granted independence.
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Following these events, an election is held in L’Manberg, incorporating votes from around 200 thousand online viewers.5 Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit lose their positions and citizenship as JSchlatt, a friend of the two from previous streaming ventures, enters the plotline and gains power. Thus ensues a war between the newly christened “Manberg” and the underground revolutionary base “Pogtopia,” created by Soot, TommyInnit, and a new ally, known anarchist and combat gladiator Technoblade. Plotting and spies on both sides attempt to dethrone and exterminate the opposing group, culminating in a festival where unwilling right-hand of JSchlatt and friend of TommyInnit, Tubbo, is executed.
It is to be noted that, around this time, the server constructed a method from which “Lives” are determined, as deaths in the video game happen quite frequently. Individuals present in plot have three “canon lives,” meaning plot-relevant symbolic deaths. Examples of these deaths include Tubbo’s execution, TommyInnit’s loss in a duel for independence against Dream, and Wilbur’s death as he failed to escape the inauguration of JSchlatt.
Finally, with the combined efforts of radicalized Manburg citizens and Pogtopia revolutionaries, JSchlatt is cornered in the old L’Manberg territory after a presidential term of corruption, misuse of power, and blatant harm done to his citizens. As he dies, Tubbo is elected President, continuing the oligarchical passing of power between original L’Manberg founders. At this ceremony, two events occur very fast, in tandem. Technoblade corners Tubbo, accusing the conforming former revolutionaries of conspiring in the very event they’d banded together to deconstruct. Meanwhile, Wilbur Soot retreats into a secret room built beneath the L’Manberg presidential podium. Unknown to most, he has created a mechanism rigged to dozens of blocks of dynamite, accessible at the press of a button.
He laments that the country he fought for, the land he built, is gone. He questions whether he should press the button, since he has lost it all already. As he stands conflicted, a voice sounds out behind him.
Philza (or Ph1LzA), a well-known streamer, father figure to multiple members in the community, and previously not a member of the DreamSMP, stands behind Wilbur, urging him not to press the button. He does anyway.
There is supplemental plot following these events, but relevancy varies as popularity converts role-playing and yes-and-ing into “lore” and “canon.” So why does it matter? (If you’re not convinced by how some teenagers and young adults captivated millions with their online LARP-ing.)
Frankly, even though the format of Minecraft storytelling had been approached in such a way before, it had never “broken containment” to this degree. Even in 2026, these streamers are struggling to escape the pervasive continuity of their fanbases due to this source. Teens became millionaires, grudges and scandals were brought to light, and thousands of lives, in some way or another, were changed. (While there is a continuing thread regarding the “cancelled” nature of some of these streamers, that is not what this paper is about.)
Why was it so novel?
Twitch as a platform had much to do with it. Not only was the server picking up speed at a (circumstantially) lucky time – almost all of the world was cooped up indoors with no social connection and new media was difficult to experience communally – but the format of a 30+ person server with a style for anyone was endlessly appealing. For higher energy dramatic content, look no further than TommyInnit or WilburSoot. For content more focused on Minecraft mechanics with an occasional “lore” integration, Awesamdude or FoolishGamers were within reach. For lower-key emotional moments, Nihachu and Fundy were often online. As long as the willingness to suspend disbelief from a viewer was present, the outlet was there. And that’s not to mention the art. Creators like WolfytheWitch, SAD-ist, and others6 became pillars of a community that desperately wanted to see these dramatic moments played with and expanded upon. Fan fictions were numerous as well, with the most well-known pieces getting well over three million reads.7 Artists suddenly had hours of content from more than two dozen people weekly, and they had never had more free time.
FIG 1.4 “What haunts your remains?” WolfytheWitch, 2021.
Outside of the plot itself, the format of Twitch encouraged audience participation. With ever-flowing chats, interactive donations, and polls, the bar for parasociality was remarkably low. The effects on social lives aside, that engagement was money for individuals spending four or more hours streaming often every day.
It couldn’t have been a hindrance, either, that the DreamSMP’s storytelling was, for lack of better word, juvenile. There wasn’t pre-writing in the traditional sense, and the scripting of plot didn’t come into effect until after the first “boom” of popularity. Characters were easy to root for because there was close to no limit of their time on screen. You could see them in their prime, roleplaying and participating in group events, but also as they built their homes, acquired resources, and killed time. This, combined with the effects of a myriad points of view of each branching thread created a personalized and endlessly investing world. In a time so divorced from newness and social connection, stepping into a world that felt ever-evolving and personal was a gift to many.
With the cast of characters still constantly under scrutiny and investigation, it’s difficult to take into account the after-effects of the DreamSMP without inviting a secondary discussion on cancel culture, internet celebrity, and parasociality, but I’m here to talk about plot and context. If you are interested in these topics, check out Tatum Durand’s thesis “Assessing "Parasocial" Relationships Through the Evolution of the Dream SMP Fandom Space“ or Nathan Grayson’s “The Price of Parasocial Fame” regarding Dream specifically.8 Purpled, one of the long-time creators on the server, also discussed its effects on him here. Needless to say, this community fostered friends for some, enemies for others, and an overall uptick in Minecraft-based storytelling. (Obviously some of these sources were around before and during the time of the DreamSMP, see: the Life Series9, but it is undeniable that the success of the DreamSMP spurred dramatic plot in its particular style.) In itself, though, the server exists as a cultural moment of connection driven by the invitation into a COVID-accessible psuedo-life, with the added benefit of a format that is applicable to most with a functional smart device or computer. There isn’t a high bar to enter for Minecraft as a medium, the server itself was formed out of connection and popularity (see: Ranboo10), as opposed to something like Hermitcraft11, which takes in new members due to both connection and building or otherwise Minecraft prowess. The players of the DreamSMP weren’t particularly good at the game, not actors, many of them were barely out of their teens, if that. As opposed to many pieces of media in the current age that have separated actors so far from the “civilian” that nepotism or extreme luck feels the only way to get into the Hollywood world, the DreamSMP was made of anyone from anywhere, some of which never even showed their faces. The server cultivated a place where truly anyone could be a participant or future creator, which spurred a community motivated by love of the medium but also a competitive desire to be the “next big thing.”
In 2026, the server has all but fallen out of sight entirely. Every once in a while, a surge on a site like Instagram or Tumblr will bring up new writings, drawings, and cosplays of a character (denoted by the prefix “c!” for “character,” as in “c!Tommy.”12), but for the most part, the fandom has relegated itself to pockets of content often so divorced from canon that they seem entirely new. However, the effect of these stories on the lives of these creators and the artists supporting them is nothing less than momentous. It is difficult to document the widespread branching connections made by this content, but channels like SAD-ist and WolfytheWitch who gained a following due to the series and remain well-liked to this day are standout community examples of these threads. In a retrospective, the DreamSMP straddles a strange line between regard as the next Odyssey and little more than a childhood playground story, but the merit of the plot itself is almost unremarkable compared to the communities left in its wake.
Where does that leave us? Frankly, the boom in content creation in the past decade has changed the generations of young people entering the workplace. In some ways, storytelling and accessibility has broken barriers, opening up the creation space to presumably anyone. But in other ways, it is increasingly obvious that the vast majority of individuals on Twitch stream to under ten viewers.13 No matter the lasting threads in content creation, creative online spaces, and digital storytelling as a whole, the DreamSMP’s ripples are undeniable, and absolutely worth regarding as more than “just a rip-off Hamilton roleplay.” No matter where it lives now.
1 Philza VODS. “‘Dream SMP ( LORE ) & Hardcore S4 - First Dream SMP VOD - Philza VOD - Streamed on November 16 2020.’” YouTube, 16 Nov. 2020, youtu.be/CIWHWyJNFWs?si=kr4xHbQtX_5AbX7Q&t=12434.
2 A multiplayer Minecraft “server” shared between players utilizing the “survival” mode of the game that incorporates mechanics of hunger, death, and “mobs.”
3 “Twitch Usage & Growth Statistics: How Many People Use Twitch? .” Backlinko, 1 Dec. 2025, backlinko.com/twitch-users.
4 TubboLIVE. “The L’manberg Presidential Election - Dream’s SMP.” YouTube, 24 Sept. 2020, youtu.be/HhTBfEeEtF8?si=0unUH8KZY-piuabT&t=4392.
5 This poll was done through a now-defunct Google Form on Wilbur Soot’s Twitter account.
6 Other popular artists at the time included birdiebrunch (now deactivated), Euca (forgotteneucalyptustree), Danya (panidanya), Finn (Late-August), Derivakat, and more. (Listen, I’m an artist and all my friends are artists. Had to hype up some of these folks.)
7 The most popular fanfictions from the DreamSMP’s peak of pop-culture relevance include romantic fan pieces such as Flowers from 1970 and Heat Waves (both fics deleted by their original posters); and Alternate Universe pieces: Passerine by thcscus, tommyinnit’s clinic for supervillains by bonesandthebees, and the Children of the Stars series by Aria_Cinabun.
8 More: Reddit user Time-Hold6592’s paper on parasociality and internet stalking with the DSMP. These pieces are specifically regarding the DreamSMP, but creators like Addy Harajuku (“We Have a Parasocial Problem”) and Shanespeare (“Love is Dead (and Other Parasocial Lies)”) have made detailed videos on internet parasociality.
9 The Life Series, created by many of the individuals on Hermitcraft, is a condensed server experience that incorporates heavy game mechanic manipulation into its roleplay.
10 Ranboo became part of the DreamSMP after they went viral on TikTok as a faceless Minecraft creator, eventually with a fanbase that included so much crossover with the SMP’s that they were officially invited. They grew to be the youngest streamer to hit #1 on Twitch and one of the fastest growing creators ever on the platform.
11 Creators on Hermitcraft also are invited due to interlocking community connections, but much of the cast of the server was invited due to their mastery of Minecraft technique. Mastery in redstone (Ethoslab, TangoTek, Mumbo Jumbo, etc.), mastery of building (PearlescentMoon, GoodTimesWithScar, etc.), and others populate the server.
12 A dive into the tumblr tag #ctommy is revealing of the community’s departure from canon. Many modern day iterations of the character look little like the original Minecraft Skin worn by TommyInnit, but this art trend is not unique to this character; most instances of art connected to Minecraft bear little stylistic similarities to the character design present in-game apart from main color scheme or motif-based consistency. (See: Fig. 2.1)
13 “Over the last 90-days, if you average more than 6-viewers, you are in the top 6.7% of Twitch. 11 or more, puts you in the top 3.1%, To get into the top 1%, you need 51 or more viewers.” Zach Bussey https://x.com/zachbussey/status/1367868296473813001
Fig. 2.1 Tommyinnit’s minecraft skin and c!Tommy art by cloverbyte.
Figs. 2.2-2.5 Collected DSMP art that I couldn’t find a place for up top but still wanted to include. Artists: tubbopride, ylaeth, WolfytheWitch, qarameiio.
Written by L. Worth.
My credentials in the matter: I am a cosplayer who, at my peak in 2021, got hundreds of thousands of views on Dream SMP cosplay videos. I actually love this story and server more than I care to admit.
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