Agree! Green Ronin's financial situation is unrelated to whether or not charging for a playtest version of a game will produce better or worse results than giving it away for free.
It's not an ethical or moral issue, it's a business issue. Giving away the playtest version vs. selling it are two...
I am also surprised they are charging for the PDF. I understand charging for the physical product for people who want something to hold in their hands because there is a cost to printing, shipping, and distributing it, not to mention tariffs.
And I understand there are real costs involved in...
I wonder what affect this will have on Etsy orders. I live in the U.S. and sometimes order board game upgrades (enhanced pieces, for example) on Etsy and most of them come from overseas. They are shipped by individual sellers.
Truer words have never been spoken. I've worked for two different RPG publishers and this is one of (many) reasons I have left that life in my rearview mirror. Too many people don't contemplate the consequences of their actions because via the internet they can affect things around the world...
I find The One Ring cover to be very appealing. As a lifelong Dungeons & Dragons player, I recently started a campaign of The One Ring and my players and I love it. There will always be a place for D&D in my life, but I'm crushing hard on TOR at the moment.