An Update from DRD – Reservoir Zero & Fantasy Faire

Hey everyone,

We had something special planned for Fantasy Faire this year: our return after 10 years, with a brand-new region and a follow-up story to San Mora.

What should have been an exciting return took a very different turn in the final days. What started as a discussion around AI use escalated far beyond that. We were transparent from the beginning and had shown what we were doing early on, with approval to move forward, but 2 days before opening the situation shifted, and how it was handled crossed a line for us.
It escalated into repeated public shaming using hundreds of red glowing prim markers pointing out anything and everything, it reached a point of bullying.
Eventually the entire build was covered in nearly a thousand Fantasy Faire posters. There’s nothing left of what we created.
We literally filled the region with Orwell quotes about censorship and authoritarian control and now we’re being silenced and erased in real time. The irony is not lost on us.

This was no longer about being anti-AI or pro-AI. Everyone is entitled to their own stance on that, and we respect differing opinions. What this became about was how poorly the situation was handled.
Things have really changed in 10 years. It no longer felt like a Faire for charity... it became a protest against AI.

We weren’t even allowed to set up RFL vendors to sell our build , meaning we were not allowed to raise money for RFL.(?)
It no longer felt like something we wanted to be part of.
We donated the sim to FF to do with it what they wish and to remove the name Reservoir Zero, because that is NOT Reservoir Zero.
We made the decision to step away completely. We’re not going to compromise our work or vision just to fit in.

So here’s what we’re doing instead:

We’re moving the full, uncensored version of Reservoir Zero to our own sim.
This summer, it will become the full apocalyptic experience we originally planned... a proper continuation of the story.
For now, we’ve already started setting things up there together with a few amazing merchants, and we’ll be hosting our own Relay For Life charity event and party very soon.

We’re sorry for the sudden change and any disappointment. This wasn’t how we wanted our return after all these years to go.

But we’re looking forward to showing you the version of Reservoir Zero that actually reflects what we built.
Thank you to everyone who reached out and had our back,  it meant a lot.

See you soon in the real Reservoir Zero 💙

— Jaimy & Eowyn