WotC Backs Down: Original OGL To Be Left Untouched; Whole 5E Rules Released as Creative Commons

Hundreds of game publishers sigh in relief as, after extensive pressure exerted by the entire open gaming community, WotC has agreed to leave the original Open Gaming License untouched and put the whole of the 5E rules into Creative Commons.

So, what's happened?

• The Open Gaming Licence v1.0a which most of the D&D third party industry relies on, will be left untouched for now.
• The whole of the D&D 5E SRD (ie the rules of the game less the fluff text) has been released under a Creative Commons license.

OGL 1.0a & Creative Commons

Over the past few weeks you, the community, have made your voices heard. And we’ve listened. OGL 1.0a will remain untouched AND the entire SRD 5.1...

www.dndbeyond.com

WotC has a history of 'disappearing' inconvenient FAQs and stuff, such as those where they themselves state that the OGL is irrevocable, so I'll copy this here for posterity.

When you give us playtest feedback, we take it seriously.

Already more than 15,000 of you have filled out the survey. Here's what you said:

• 88% do not want to publish TTRPG content under OGL 1.2.
• 90% would have to change some aspect of their business to accommodate OGL 1.2.
• 89% are dissatisfied with deauthorizing OGL 1.0a.
• 86% are dissatisfied with the draft VTT policy.
• 62% are satisfied with including Systems Reference Document (SRD) content in Creative Commons, and the majority of those who were dissatisfied asked for more SRD content in Creative Commons.

These live survey results are clear. You want OGL 1.0a. You want irrevocability. You like Creative Commons.
The feedback is in such high volume and its direction is so plain that we're acting now.

1. We are leaving OGL 1.0a in place, as is. Untouched.
2. We are also making the entire SRD 5.1 available under a Creative Commons license.
3. You choose which you prefer to use.

This Creative Commons license makes the content freely available for any use. We don't control that license and cannot alter or revoke it. It's open and irrevocable in a way that doesn't require you to take our word for it. And its openness means there's no need for a VTT policy. Placing the SRD under a Creative Commons license is a one-way door. There's no going back.

Our goal here is to deliver on what you wanted.

So, what about the goals that drove us when we started this process?

We wanted to protect the D&D play experience into the future. We still want to do that with your help. We're grateful that this community is passionate and active because we'll need your help protecting the game's inclusive and welcoming nature.

We wanted to limit the OGL to TTRPGs. With this new approach, we are setting that aside and counting on your choices to define the future of play.
Here's a PDF of SRD 5.1 with the Creative Commons license. By simply publishing it, we place it under an irrevocable Creative Commons license. We'll get it hosted in a more convenient place next week. It was important that we take this step now, so there's no question.

• SRD 5.1-CC

We'll be closing the OGL 1.2 survey now.

We'll keep talking with you about how we can better support our players and creators. Thanks as always for continuing to share your thoughts.

Kyle Brink
Executive Producer, Dungeons & Dragons

What does this mean?

The original OGL sounds safe for now, but WotC has not admitted that they cannot revoke it. That's less of an issue now the 5E System Reference Document is now released to Creative Commons (although those using the 3E SRD or any third party SRDs still have issues as WotC still hasn't revoked the incorrect claim that they can revoke access to those at-will).

At this point, if WotC wants anybody to use whatever their new OGL v1.x turns out to be, there needs to be one heck of a carrot. What that might be remains to be seen.

Pathfinder publlsher Paizo has also commented on the latest developments.

We welcome today’s news from Wizards of the Coast regarding their intention not to de-authorize OGL 1.0a. We still believe there is a powerful need for an irrevocable, perpetual independent system-neutral open license that will serve the tabletop community via nonprofit stewardship. Work on the ORC license will continue, with an expected first draft to release for comment to participating publishers in February.

Over 1,500 Publishers Support Paizo's Upcoming Open RPG Creator's License

Paizo has revealed some of the 1,500+ tabletop RPG publishers who have expressed an interest in their new Open RPG Creator's License (ORC), describing the group as the 'ORC Alliance'. The license itself is still being worked on, so these 1,500 publishers have not actually seen it or signed...

www.enworld.org

 

[delericho]

Good enough for me. Thanks everyone!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

They could do it again next month. They really needed to make OGL 1.0b(or whatever numbering) and include true irrevocability language. I don't know that this is going to be enough for the creators. We will have to see how they respond.

Or someone needs to create an SRD under ORC or CC that allows the creation of the stuff that the OGL does. The 5.1 SRD gets them very close, I suspect.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I stand corrected. I expected at least 1.0b to make it explicitely irrevocable. I guess CC works too.
If I understand it correctly, I like it even better, because if you use CC, you have to share your own stuff too. And it is not owned by wotc, so everyone is on the same level.

Now lets go on with the normal playtest and watch the movie with joy.

PS: they took my begging in the survey to heart and stopped the division of the community before it is too late (i hope).

 

[Jer]

They could do it again next month. They really needed to make OGL 1.0b(or whatever numbering) and include true irrevocability language. I don't know that this is going to be enough for the creators. We will have to see how they respond.

For 5e creators releasing under the CC-BY should pretty much cover them. Legally they now have MORE freedom to use the material not less.

For folks using the 3e SRD, they should still go through de-OGLifying their material IMO. Wizards isn't going to do anything in the near term because holy cow just look at what they went through as a PR nightmare. But executives change positions all the time and who knows what could happen. (But with the 5e SRD under a CC-BY, de-OGLifying should be easier as well).

 

[dave2008]

I understand that one recent past edition was neither under 1.0a or in the 5.1 SRD, and some said it was all set for being more video-gamey if that was what was desired...

4e was under the GSL. However, they could in theory release the 4e and 3e SRD to CC as well. The mentioned something like this in the FAQ earlier this week. I imagine we will get more on this next week.

 

[Staffan]

Ironically, they kind of killed it anyway. The OGL 1.0a is now the appendix of gaming licenses. It is still there, but unnecessary, obsolete.

Nah. There's still 23 years of stuff published under the OGL 1.0a that you need the OGL to build upon.

 

[Haplo781]

I'm happy that they took this step and that SRD 5.1 is now CC. But I do find it curious that they didn't mention OneD&D or what they intend to do with any future content. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Introducing GSL 2.0

 

[Ashtagon]

I think we still need to push for a new OGL, identical to the 1.0a, except to note that the licence is not merely perpetual but also irrevocable (by which we mean that it cannot be ended except by mutual agreement of all who use it).

Although it is good that the 5.1 SRD (and hopefully others) is now under CC licence, there is notably different functionality between CC and OGL, and some 3PPs may prefer the choices available under OGL that aren't under CC (or vice versa).

Without a fixed OGL, it leaves open the possibility in the future that WotC may try again to de-authorise (or some other keyword variant that means "end") the 1.0a OGL. And with a 3PP base split effectively between OGL, ORC, and CC, it would be much harder in future to get a united front together to defend against this kind of shenanigans next time. As such, it would leave anyone publishing under OGL uniquely vulnerable, making a strong incentive for them to abandon that licence anyway, before it becomes a threat to their business.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Not really. And 100% they will push some false narratives in the near future about something that 'could have been prevented, if not for the 1.0 OGL'.

The 1.0 OGL cost us a raid tier.

 

[Maxperson]

For 5e creators releasing under the CC-BY should pretty much cover them. Legally they now have MORE freedom to use the material not less.

For folks using the 3e SRD, they should still go through de-OGLifying their material IMO. Wizards isn't going to do anything in the near term because holy cow just look at what they went through as a PR nightmare. But executives change positions all the time and who knows what could happen. (But with the 5e SRD under a CC-BY, de-OGLifying should be easier as well).

I don't think 3e was ever any sort of intended target. This was about 5e and going forward. They're not going to do anything to people using the older SRDs.