Will WotC release Keys from the Golden Vault with zero promotion due to OGL firestorm?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

This weekend -- a day after we're now told WotC will give us more information on their next "draft" of the OGL -- will be one month away from Keys from the Golden Vault being released.

At this point, we know next to nothing about it. There's no concrete information about what's inside. No cover art. Certainly no live event promoting it and other upcoming works. It seems almost certain that there were plans to start promoting it this month, but they got put on hold indefinitely due to the ongoing OGL firestorm, because WotC isn't interested in the responses they'd get right now if they said "buy this book!"

But the books are likely already at the distributor. They will be going to game shops and book stories in late February. They will be going on sale.

The people behind this book almost certainly have zero to do with the OGL mess, but them speaking up and saying "hey, I'm proud of this thing I did" isn't likely to go over well at this moment.

So what does WotC do? Tough it out and turn off the comments during their promotion? Ship with no marketing push? Hope that this all magically goes away before Feb. 21?

(And yes, I was a likely purchaser of the book, as I DM for so many rogues. But now, I'll be going with the indie book Ogre's 13 instead, due to the OGL stuff.)

 

[darjr]

I can't find it on Amazon.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It's here.

 

[darjr]

Yea. I went back and there it w as. Weird. Got phat phingers today.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I'm shocked they didn't try a stunt to promote it seeing as they're trying every other distraction in the book short of making Crawford dance for the people.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm shocked they didn't try a stunt to promote it seeing as they're trying every other distraction in the book short of making Crawford dance for the people.

I think that's a sign that "they" isn't a monolith.

The marketing and dev team are likely hiding under their desks every time the execs responsible for the OGL mess walk by.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

It's here.

It does not have a cover yet.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

It does not have a cover yet.

True.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I imagine they will release the cover and promote it after the 20th.

 

[humble minion]

I imagine they will release the cover and promote it after the 20th.

It might need to be a fair bit after the 20th if they want any clear air. I'm personally very pessimistic about what we'll see when WotC unveils the new OGL, and there's a lot of people who are primed to be angrier than me (not to mention those who've glommed onto the whole business for outrage clicks and who have an interest in keeping it going as long as possible)

But still, even before this whole OGL business blew up in everyone's face, Golden Vault info was still way behind the regular preview schedule. I just did an archive search, and it looks like we had page counts, cover art, a few internal images etc, and content details for Spelljammer in April 2022, four months before the release date. If Golden Vault was on that timeline, we should have seen the cover art in October.