WotC Announces OGL 1.1 -- Revised Terms, Royalties, and Annual Revenue Reporting

There has been a lot of speculation recently about WotC's plans regarding the Open Gaming License and the upcoming One D&D. Today, WotC shared some information.

In short, they will be producing a new Open Gaming License (note that the previous OGL 1.0a will still exist, and can still be used). However, for those who use the new OGL 1.1, which will be released in early 2023, there will be some limitations added with regards the type of product which can use it, and -- possibly controversially -- reporting to WotC your annual OGL-related revenue.

They are also adding a royalty for those third party publishers who make more than $750K per year.

Interestingly, only books and 'static electronic files' like ebooks and PDFs will be compatible with the new OGL, meaning that apps, web pages, and the like will need to stick to the old OGL 1.0a.

There will, of course, be a lot of debate and speculation over what this actually means for third party creators, and how it will affect them. Some publishers like Paizo (for Pathfinder) and others will likely simply continue to use the old OGL. The OGL 1.0a allows WotC to update the license, but allows licensees to continue to use previous versions "to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this License".

OGLs, SRDs, & One D&D

We love the interest and passion the community has for D&D. We love D&D, too. So, when we see the D&D community concerned by rumors and misu...

www.dndbeyond.com

1. Will One D&D include an SRD/be covered by an OGL?

Yes. First, we’re designing One D&D with fifth edition backwards compatibility, so all existing creator content that is compatible with fifth edition will also be compatible with One D&D. Second, we will update the SRD for One D&D as we complete its development—development that is informed by the results of playtests that we’re conducting with hundreds of thousands of D&D players now.

2. Will the OGL terms change?

Yes. We will release version 1.1 of the OGL in early 2023.

The OGL needs an update to ensure that it keeps doing what it was intended to do—allow the D&D community’s independent creators to build and play and grow the game we all love—without allowing things like third-parties to mint D&D NFTs and large businesses to exploit our intellectual property.

So, what’s changing?

First, we’re making sure that OGL 1.1 is clear about what it covers and what it doesn’t. OGL 1.1 makes clear it only covers material created for use in or as TTRPGs, and those materials are only ever permitted as printed media or static electronic files (like epubs and PDFs). Other types of content, like videos and video games, are only possible through the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy or a custom agreement with us. To clarify: Outside of printed media and static electronic files, the OGL doesn’t cover it.

Will this affect the D&D content and services players use today? It shouldn’t. The top VTT platforms already have custom agreements with Wizards to do what they do. D&D merchandise, like minis and novels, were never intended to be part of the OGL and OGL 1.1 won’t change that. Creators wishing to leverage D&D for those forms of expression will need, as they always have needed, custom agreements between us.

Second, we’re updating the OGL to offer different terms to creators who choose to make free, share-alike content and creators who want to sell their products.

What does this mean for you as a creator? If you’re making share-alike content, very little is going to change from what you’re already used to.

If you’re making commercial content, relatively little is going to change for most creators. For most of you who are selling custom content, here are the new things you’ll need to do:

1. Accept the license terms and let us know what you’re offering for sale
2. Report OGL-related revenue annually (if you make more than $50,000 in a year)
3. Include a Creator Product badge on your work

When we roll out OGL 1.1, we will also provide explanatory videos, FAQs, and a web portal for registration to make navigating these requirements as easy and intuitive as possible. We’ll also have help available to creators to navigate the new process.

For the fewer than 20 creators worldwide who make more than $750,000 in income in a year, we will add a royalty starting in 2024. So, even for the creators making significant money selling D&D supplements and games, no royalties will be due for 2023 and all revenue below $750,000 in future years will be royalty-free.

Bottom line: The OGL is not going away. You will still be able to create new D&D content, publish it anywhere, and game with your friends and followers in all the ways that make this game and community so great. The thousands of creators publishing across Kickstarter, DMsGuild, and more are a critical part of the D&D experience, and we will continue to support and encourage them to do that through One D&D and beyond.

 

[AnotherGuy]

Probably, but I don't see it. Maybe younger players engage D&D differently enough that beyond will become "essential" for most of them. I find it not worth the trouble.

I'm with you. The youngster in my group has an account there and he's just a player.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I am not a creator. But it does not sound like the sky is falling. A little more restrictive, but I mean, making 750k a year does not look like it affects most people (leess than 20 as they say).

I think the issue is it makes companies that have been very independent, more beholden to WOTC. Reporting your company's revenue to another company is not something businesses do lightly. Giving royalties also could be an issue. I suspect it will present a significant choice for those 750k companies. It also gives WOTC a lot of crucial information about sales in the hobby in general.

 

[GreyLord]

I mean, the royalty is only on the portion of income above $750K so if you're just slightly above that number it should be fairly meaningless. Let's say it's a 2% royalty. That's what, $5,000 if you make $1 Million in income off SRD material?

That would be 20K, not 5K. I don't know what percentage they would want, but I would think something more akin to 5% than 2% if they stick more to general royalties. OR, it could be a changing scale, say 1% at 750K, 2% at 1 million, 3% at 2 million, 4% at 5 million, and 5% at 10 million and above.

 

[overgeeked]

Not if WotC doesn't provide some coding service for your content. Most of the people I have worked with and for making 5E content aren't coders. Asking small 3PP to take on the additional expense of finding people to code their stuff for Beyond and the VTT is probably not going to work. The margins are slim enough as it is.

Or they will make it like homebrewing things in DNDBeyond. Click this, type there, press a button. The vast majority of subclasses, spells, magic items, etc are minor variations on gain proficiency here, add a bonus here, add a die there, advantage, disadvantage, etc. It also makes the background changes make more sense. It's easier to pick two languages, two skills, and a feat than it would be to program in something like the noble's peasant mind control. They only have to code that once instead of a hundred minor variations on the theme.

 

[Loren the GM]

But they can't make Beyond the only outlet for 1D&D stuff, because of section 9. So they would have to convince 3PPs that Beyond is important enough to their model that they should go 1.1. And to do that, they have to have much more serious reach with Beyond than they have now.

D&D Beyond has over 10 million registered users, and it is becoming the front door for WotC to communicate with their customers. As THE official destination for all things digital D&D, having product in their store with a user base that big would definitely be a big draw for creators. If integration into the platform is offered as part of that store front, that is even bigger draw (the character options offered are now available in the character builder, the magic items are now in the magic item database, the adventure can be built out fully into the coming VTT and sold, etc.).

We don't know registered user numbers for DM's Guild, but I would guess it is significantly lower than that. Web traffic analysis suggests they get less than a million visits each month. DrivethruRPG is estimated around 2 million visits a month, and their users are across all RPG's and not just D&D. DND Beyond gets about 14 million a month. That would indicate a much larger sales audience than either of the other major store fronts for D&D content, and a huge draw for creators.

 

[J.Quondam]

To be clear, has the actual verbiage of this updated OGL been released, or is the only info the material in the PR/blog post at DDB?

 

[Sacrosanct]

D&D Beyond has over 10 million registered users, and it is becoming the front door for WotC to communicate with their customers. As THE official destination for all things digital D&D, having product in their store with a user base that big would definitely be a big draw for creators.

This here is the #1 reason to use the new OGL, as a publisher. For this publisher anyway.

 

[Alzrius]

To be clear, has the actual verbiage of this updated OGL been released, or is the only info the material in the PR/blog post at DDB?

The latter.

 

[Malmuria]

There is definitely a change towards greater monetization of the OGL. Eh, doesn't bother me in the slightest, at least not with what we've heard so far.

I'm not in favor of the game being, at or near its core, a subscription-based service, even if I'm not going to subscribe one way or another. I just can't help note the irony that some of the people campaigning for #opendnd have monetized every aspect of their "creative" process. They're peddling kickstarters with $175 tiers and Patreons with $20/month subscription levels; wotc would get skewered for charging those kinds of prices. I put "creative" in quotation marks because these products are highly derivative of wotc's game and book design at best and at worst are full of problematic fantasy tropes. It's like listening to an airbnb host complain about corporate greed.

 

[billd91]

What percentage of D&D players use Beyond? What percentage of those use 3PP content?

Would I care? Probably not. I'd be more interested in knowing how many subscribing users there are and what the trend is more than the proportion of the full D&D community. Having access to a user base of millions (and growing) where they can get my published materials easily onto their character sheets without having to set up custom material? And all I have to do is report a few bits of financial info on my sales and, if I break into the big time, pay a royalty?