The Dream SMP (sometimes referred to as DSMP; formerly as the Dream Team SMP) was an invite-only survival multiplayer (SMP) ''

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...

server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides requested information for other programs or devices, called clients. Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending custome ...

. YouTubers

Dream A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensation (psychology), sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around ...

and

GeorgeNotFound George Davidson (born 1 November 1996), better known online as GeorgeNotFound (abbreviated as GNF; also known as Gogy), is an English internet personality, YouTuber, and Twitch streamer. He gained substantial popularity in 2020 and 2021 thro ...

created a roleplay with ''

'' content creators. They played fictionalized versions of themselves in a loose storyline. Participants

livestreamed Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- live ...

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

and

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. It became a popular ''Minecraft''

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

. The server was officially shut down on April 10, 2023.

History and plot

The Dream SMP was created by

and

in April or May 2020 as a small server for a few friends. It quickly gained popularity, in part due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and collaborations across various Twitch and YouTube channels. It starred fellow ''Minecraft''

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

s such as

Sapnap Nicholas Armstrong (born March 1, 2001), known online as Sapnap, is an American YouTuber and livestreamer known for his ''Minecraft'' content. Along with Dream and GeorgeNotFound, he is part of the Dream Team and was a founding member of the Dre ...

and

TommyInnit Thomas Michael Simons (born 9 April 2004), better known as TommyInnit ( ), is a British YouTuber, Twitch streamer, comedian and author. He produces ''Minecraft''-related videos and live streams, including collaborations with fellow YouTubers ...

, who roleplayed as characters loosely based on themselves. They engaged in lengthy conflicts over political power and rare artifacts. Most content was

improvised Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

, apart from major plot points which were loosely scripted in advance.

Wilbur Soot William Patrick Spencer Gold (born 14 September 1996), known professionally as Wilbur Soot, is an English Twitch streamer, YouTuber, and musician. He first became known in 2017 for his work with the group comedy YouTube channel SootHouse, wher ...

, who planned many of the early story arcs, said in an interview for ''Insider'', "I write up a series of plot hooks and points that should tie together, however we improv sedialogue and comedy throughout to take us from point to point." The server had over 20 "eras" in its plotline and over 30 characters as of August 2021. The server's early storyline was inspired by ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

'', and the musical was referenced many times by the server members. Within the plot, characters could die up to three times before being permanently dead. Some members played multiple characters, including ghost versions of themselves. Dream used a separate ''Minecraft'' account to play as DreamXD, the god of the Dream SMP and who has canon access to creative mode. The Disc Saga, the server's longest-running story arc, was a series of events centered around two rare music discs belonging to TommyInnit. Throughout the saga, Dream and other characters fought over ownership of the discs, and used them as leverage against each other. The Disc Saga concluded in January 2021, with Dream being imprisoned. TommyInnit's Twitch broadcast of the events peaked at over 650,000 viewers, making it the third-highest all-time concurrent viewer livestream on the platform. Another conflict broke out when Wilbur Soot founded L'Manburg, an in-game

breakaway state Breakaway or Break Away may refer to: Film, television and radio * ''Breakaway'' (1955 film), a British film * ''Breakaway'' (1966 film), an American short film by Bruce Conner * ''Breakaway'' (1990 film), an Australian film featuring Deborah ...

for non-American players. It seceded from the Greater Dream SMP nation and won a war for independence. L'Manburg would later hold a presidential election, which involved heated roleplay debates between the fictional political parties SWAG2020 and POG2020. When SWAG2020 running mate GeorgeNotFound failed to show up,

Quackity Alexis (born December 28, 2000), better known online as Quackity, is a Mexican YouTuber and Twitch streamer. He is known for his time in the Dream SMP. As of December 2024, he had 6.4 million followers on Twitch, making him the 29th most follo ...

, the presidential candidate for the party, formed an impromptu coalition party with

jschlatt jschlatt (born September 10, 1999), also known as Schlatt, is an American content creator, entrepreneur, and singer. He creates a variety of online content, including gaming videos, vlogs, reaction videos, skits, and music covers. Schlatt is ...

, SchWAG2020. This coalition party went on to win the election with 46 percent of the vote. In January 2021, L'Manburg would go on to be invaded, destroyed, and permanently disbanded. The heavy emphasis on the roleplaying aspect of the server and their overarching plots attracted significant attention. According to Rich Stanton of ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'', "L'Manburg was taken very seriously by its players, to the extent the nation has not only a flag but a national anthem." The plot was likened to

live theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communicat ...

by Cecilia D'Anastasio of ''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

'', describing it as a " Machiavellian political drama". Ryan Broderick of ''

Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...

'' described the server's plot as being played out like "a silly ''

Game of Thrones ''Game of Thrones'' is an American Fantasy television, fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series created by David Benioff and for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of high fantasy novels by ...

'' with anime pacing", and described the story's characters as being "not unlike how the wrestler

John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...

plays the wrestler John Cena inside the narrative of

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

". The Disc Saga was described by Julia Alexander of ''

The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...

'' as a "dramatic tale of good versus evil" as Dream and TommyInnit fought over dominance in the server. In a 2022 interview with ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', Dream said that the Dream SMP was just ''Minecraft'' being used as a storytelling medium as opposed to being an actual game, with GeorgeNotFound adding they do not actually "really" play ''Minecraft'' when doing Dream SMP streams. In November 2022, TommyInnit and

Tubbo Tobias James Smith (born 23 December 2003), known online as Tubbo, is a British Twitch streamer and YouTuber who is primarily known for creating ''Minecraft'' content. He is also known for his time on the Dream SMP, an invite-only survival mult ...

did four consecutive live streams on Twitch, starting on November 10 and ending on November 13, describing them as the Dream SMP season 1 finale. These four streams concluded with the server being blown up by Tubbo and Jack Manifold. The last part of the stream featured Dream, TommyInnit, and Tubbo appearing on a new world with no memories of what had happened earlier in the stream. Tubbo later announced that all subsequent finale streams will end in the server blowing up, calling it "The Event." In the same stream, he hinted that season 2 may have references to season 1. In March 2023, Dream announced that there would likely be no season 2; in response, CaptainPuffy uploaded over 300 images taken of locations on the server at various stages on her website. Several members streamed on the SMP together on April 10, 2023, to defeat the

Ender Dragon ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...

boss Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...

in ''Minecraft''), which was inaccessible until that day due to Dream's rules.

Cultural impact

The Dream SMP garnered a large following and a popular

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...

, with hundreds of thousands of viewers turning up for live events. Its storylines are analyzed in documentary-style videos, such as those of

MatPat Matthew Robert Patrick (born November 15, 1986), known professionally as MatPat, is an American internet personality, political advisor, and former YouTuber. He is the creator and former host of the YouTube series ''Game Theorists'', and its s ...

, who describes the series as "narrative storytelling through the lens of gaming". Broderick also attributes the Dream SMP's unprecedented success to how its story is showcased, describing it as being "a profound idea

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

essentially turns viewers into their own directors, hopping through streams to see which version of the story they want to focus on". In September 2021, Benjamin Herold of ''

The Hechinger Report Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

'' said that the Dream SMP "helped millions of kids stay connected to the social world" during the COVID-19 pandemic. The server's storylines have inspired

fan art Fan art or fanart is artwork created by Fan (person), fans of a work of fiction or celebrity depicting events, Character (arts), character, or other aspect of the work. As fan labor, fan art refers to artworks that are not created, commissione ...

fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

s, and online

musicals Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

. Although unusual for an online creator, Dream encouraged fan fiction to be written about him, stating that it ultimately helps his career. One notable fan creator is Sad-ist, an animator from the Philippines who illustrates events from the server's story set to music and dialogue clips. An offhand joke post on

Tumblr Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...

made at the expense of the Dream SMP fandom led to the creation of a fan-made server with its own plot and lore, known as "Penis SMP". On July 24, 2021, the flag of L'Manburg was spotted at an

anti-vaccine Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these Social networking, collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine h ...

protest in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, next to a

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

flag.

In pop culture

''The Verge'' described the Dream SMP as a "worldwide phenomenon", with Dream SMP fans creating mass amounts of fan fiction, fan art and fan songs. A notable fan work, ''Heat Waves'', which is a Dream SMP-related fan fiction series hosted on

Archive of Our Own Archive of Our Own (AO3) is a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, open-source software, open source repository for fanfiction and other fanworks contributed by users. The site was created in 2008 by the Organization for Transformative Works and w ...

, reached the top three in kudos on the website. It is named after the song "

Heat Waves "Heat Waves" is a song by British indie rock band Glass Animals released as a single from their third studio album ''Dreamland (Glass Animals album), Dreamland'' on 29 June 2020. A sleeper hit, it is the band's signature song and biggest hit sing ...

" by

Glass Animals Glass Animals are a British indie rock band formed in Oxford, England in 2010. The band's line-up consists of Dave Bayley (vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums, songwriting), Drew MacFarlane (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Edmund Irwin-Singe ...

, and is suggested to be one of the reasons the song topped the 2020 Triple J Hottest 100 countdown in Australia. "Dream SMP" was listed as a genre in

Spotify Wrapped Spotify Wrapped is a viral marketing campaign by Spotify released annually since 2016 between November 29 and December 6, allowing users to view a compilation of data about their activity on the platform over the preceding year, and inviting th ...

in late 2021. The genre encompasses fan-created music about the events of the server, music made by Dream SMP members, and music used in Dream SMP streams, but largely was used as a catchall for music by YouTubers with similar fanbases. The artists that are part of the genre include Glass Animals, Wilbur Soot,

Toby Fox Robert F. "Toby" Fox (born October 11, 1991) is an American video game developer and composer. He is best known for developing the role-playing video game ''Undertale'', which garnered acclaim and has received nominations for a British Academy ...

, Derivakat, and

Alec Benjamin Alec Shane Benjamin (born May 28, 1994) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, his 2018 breakthrough " Let Me Down Slowly" from his album '' Narrated for You'' reached the top 40 in over 25 countries ...

. The server was visited by several notable guest stars, including

KSI Olajide Olayinka Williams "JJ" Olatunji (born 19 June 1993), better known by his online alias KSI, is an English influencer, professional boxer and musician. He is a co-founding member of YouTube group the Sidemen, the CEO of Misfits Boxing a ...

Vikkstar123 Vikram Singh Barn (born 2 August 1995), better known as Vikkstar123 or simply Vikkstar, is an English influencer. He is a member of the YouTube group the Sidemen. Barn's YouTube career started in 2010, primarily focusing Call of Duty: Modern W ...

LazarBeam Lannan Neville Eacott (born 14 December 1994), better known as LazarBeam, is an Australian YouTuber, professional gamer and Internet personality, known primarily for his video game commentary videos, "comedic riffs" and memes. Eacott began ...

Ninja A , or was a spy and infiltrator in pre-modern Japan. The functions of a ninja included siege and infiltration, ambush, reconnaissance, espionage, deception, and later bodyguarding.Kawakami, pp. 21–22 Antecedents may have existed as ear ...

Lil Nas X Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), better known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his 2018 country rap single "Old Town Road," the longest-running nu ...

Pokimane Imane Anys (; Arabic: إِيمَان أَنِيس, born 14 May 1996), known professionally as Pokimane ( or ), is a Canadian online streamer, YouTuber and influencer. She is best known for gameplay and commentary livestreams on Twitch, most no ...

Corpse Husband Corpse Husband (born August 8, 1997), commonly abbreviated as Corpse and stylized in all caps, is an American YouTuber and musician. Corpse is best known for his music and "faceless" work on YouTube. He is mostly known for his horror story na ...

, and

MrBeast James Stephen "Jimmy" Donaldson (born May 7, 1998), commonly known by his online alias MrBeast, is an American YouTuber, media personality, and businessman. His YouTube videos, where he often hosts elaborate challenges and philanthropic effor ...

. MrBeast staged a game on the server by hiding gift cards worth for Dream SMP members to find, which streamer

won.

Cast

List adapted primarily from ''

Dot Esports The GAMURS Group, simply known as Gamurs, is an esports media and entertainment publisher. Established in 2014, the group operates multiple brands focusing on the esports and entertainment news markets, including the websites: ''Dot Esports'', '' ...

''.

Main cast

Founding members

*Callahan *

Subsequent members

=Joined in 2020

= * Antfrost * BadBoyHalo * CaptainPuffy * ConnorEatsPants * Eret * Fundy * HBomb94 * JackManifoldTV *

Karl Jacobs Karl Thomas Jacobs (born July 19, 1998), formerly known as GamerBoyKarl, is an American YouTuber, author, writer, and producer. He rose to prominence as a member of MrBeast's on-screen cast and then developed his own videos, primarily ''Minecraft ...

* Nihachu * Ph1LzA * Ponk * Punz * Purpled *

* Ranboo * Skeppy *

=Joined in 2021

= * BoomerNA * Eryn * Foolish Gamers * Hannahxxrose * Michaelmcchill * Slimecicle * TinaKitten

=Joined in 2022

= *Aimsey * Seapeekay

Former members

* ItsAlyssa (2020; unknown, Dream did not give her the new IP address for the server, multiple reasons for leaving) *Jikishi (2021; banned following grooming accusations) *Manatreed (2022; left) *

Technoblade Alexander (June 1, 1999 – June 2022), known online as Technoblade ( ), was an American YouTuber known for his ''Minecraft'' videos, Livestreaming, livestreams, and involvement in the Dream SMP. Technoblade registered his main channel on YouT ...

(2020–2022; his death)

Guest appearances

Andrea Botez Andrea Cecilia Cristina Botez ( ; born April 6, 2002) is a Canadian chess player, commentator, DJ and internet personality. She is mostly known as part of the BotezLive Twitch channel with her sister Alexandra Botez. She is also credited as one ...

* Dream's sister (nicknamed "Drista" by TommyInnit) * Iskall85 * JustaMinx * JustVurb *

* Tubbo's sister, Lani, known online as LanuSky *

* Michael Clifford from

5 Seconds of Summer 5 Seconds of Summer, often shortened to 5SOS, are an Australian pop rock band formed in Sydney, New South Wales in 2011. The group consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Luke Hemmings, lead guitarist Michael Clifford (musician), Mic ...

* Karl Jacobs' brother, Sean * Skeppy's assistant, Lya, who pretended to be Skeppy's sister * Onilexy * Spifey * Cypher * Ph1LzA's wife, Kristin, known online as Misstrixtin

Notes

References

External links

* * {{Twitch navbox 2020 in Internet culture Improvisational theatre Internet properties disestablished in 2023 Internet properties established in 2020 Livestreaming Minecraft servers Role-playing Internet memes introduced in 2020