Wizards of the Coast rolls back D&D OGL update, waives royalties and more

Wizards of the Coast is finally responding to the ongoing open play license controversy, rolling back several updates, including royalties.

Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has finally responded to intense criticism from its fanbase over its leaked Open Gaming License (OGL) 1.1 for Dungeons & Dragons.

One week after OGL update for D&D appeared online, the developers posted their response to fan criticism. D&D Beyond, an official resource for Dungeons & Dragons content, posted an acknowledgment of the controversy on his Twitter page on Tuesday, saying only that he would give answers “soon”. Now Wizards of the Coast confirms that it has backtracked on the OGL, removing royalties and the ability for it to make and sell products from third-party developers while claiming that was never its intention.

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First and foremost, WotC said its top priority in the OGL update was to eliminate the ability for third-party developers to make and sell products with “hateful and discriminatory” content. Additionally, Wizards of the Coast said it still intends to seek community input and that the leaked OGL draft was an attempt to do so. He also said that he will no longer release the new OGL today as planned due to the changes he has to make to his original draft. In the final draft, he promised to remove language that implied he might have the right to make and sell merchandise made by content creators. However, he said he would include language to “protect us and our partners from creators who falsely claim that we are stealing their work simply because of coincidental similarities.”

What is the new DnD OGL?

Under the new OGL, Wizards of the Coast would have control over all products created by small businesses based on its TTRPG system. These include smaller publishers like Kobold Press, which have responded to the changes by announcing the development of their own set of core fantasy rules. The new OGL would require creators to notify WotC of every product they create and submit total revenue. It also allows WotC to produce and sell the products of other creators if they have bases in J&D. Additionally, it requires manufacturers who earn $750,000 on its products to pay WotC a 20-25% royalty for anything they earn above that threshold, whether or not it has made a profit.

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DnD fans outraged by OGL #OpenDnD update and trend

After the leak, Dungeons & Dragons players have flooded social media to express their anger over the proposed update. Most found the changes insulting because the companies targeted and impacted by OGL are primarily responsible D&Dgrowing success over the past two decades. Many in the long run D&D players threatened to jump ship to another TTRPG, as Scout, if Wizards of the Coast enacts the new OGL. However, other fans pointed out that Scout would also suffer severe impacts from the new OGL, as the old acted as its backbone.

Fans have launched a hashtag campaign, #OpenDnD, demanding that Wizards of the Coast revoke its proposed OGL update. D&D fans have come together to create an open letter, asking for signatures to raise awareness of the issues smaller creators face if the developer were to follow through on the new OGL. The letter claimed that “the tabletop industry will shrink to a fraction of its current size, shutting down the small businesses that populate your local crooks and ending their creations.”

Source: Wizards of the Coast