Rumours: WotC Announcement Today; Insider Email Reveals Plans

There's a couple of rumours going round today. I cannot verify either, but I'm reporting them as most of the recent OGL rumours have proven true.

First -- it is rumoured that today at 3pm ET Wizards of the Coast will make some kind of video statement about the current Open Game License situation. This rumour came from the folks at Roll For Combat who were the first to break the draft OGL scoop.

[[UPDATE -- This didn't happen!]]

Second -- an email has been circulating from an anonymous WotC insider. Again, I must reiterate I cannot myself verify this, so read this with that in mind, but the email says:

Hi,

I'm an employee at WotC currently working on D&Dbeyond (DDB) and with D&D business leaders on the health of the product line. If you want I can provide proof of this.

I'm sending this message because I fear for the health of a community I love, and I know what the leaders at WOTC are looking at:

-They are briefly delaying rollout of OGL changes due to the backlash.
-Their decision making is based entirely on the provable impact to their bottom line.
-Specifically they are looking at DDB subscriptions and cancellations as it is the quickest financial data they currently have.
-They are still hoping the community forgets, moves on, and they can still push this through.

I have decided to reach out because at my time in WotC I have never once heard management refer to customers in a positive manner, their communication gives me the impression they see customers as obstacles between them and their money, the DDB team was first told to prepare to support the new OGL changes and online portal when they got back from the holidays, and leadership doesn't take any responsibility for the pain and stress they cause others. Leadership's first communication to the rank and file on the OGL was 30 minutes on 1/11/23, This was the first time they even tried to communicate their intentions about the OGL to employees, and even in this meeting they blamed the community for over-reacting.

I will repeat, the main thing this leadership is looking at is DDB subscription cancellations.

Hope your day goes well,

P.S. I will be copying and pasting this message to other community leaders.

If both rumours are true, I guess at 3pm ET today we'll find that out.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

With a nod to the humor, I'm gonna humbly suggest folks not. There have always been so many good reasons not to have a D&D Beyond account at all that this one barely even registers a change on the whole tumescent mass.

I completely agree, but (admission time) I signed up just to get the stoopid playtest packets.

 

[Charlaquin]

I just hope it is a full announcement not a wishy washy "we will reevaluate" one.

I think you will probably be disappointed.

 

[Art Waring]

I doubt they would say they’re still planning on releasing it. More likely they’d just announce that they’re not going to release it yet, and try to wait for the outrage to blow over before releasing it quietly.

Yeah they are going to word it very carefully I suspect.

 

[Ibrandul]

Speaking of which, I am beginning to wonder if One D&D will support print media at all at this point.

I've been wondering the same thing.

As Matt Colville said a couple of days ago, they don't really want analog customers anymore—except as living marketing for their digital subscription services. From WotC's point of view, six people sitting around a table with pens, paper, dice, and a few legally purchased books are not customers. They're freeloaders.

But I think they'll stick with print editions, considering them essentially as loss leaders.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I don't have a problem with it conceptually, but I found I don't actually like doing it. it changes the relationship at the table in a way I don't like. And I run a lot at cons, so it isn't about playing with randos or serving as an entainer.

That's how I feel as well. It's one thing to throw a "gamer kitty" donation plate on the table (to collect money to pay for food, minis, and broken chairs) and another to ask for cash up front.

I'm fine with people who do it, but I can't get myself to do it, even as a game retailer. (OTOH, I am happy to sell books, dice, and minis to as many of them as I can!)

 

[Bayushi_seikuro]

Speaking of which, I am beginning to wonder if One D&D will support print media at all at this point.

This is a good point. I think there IS an issue with print media in the sense of what consumers think a book should cost. Designer John Wick (not the movie character) has an interesting video about that where he compares the prices of Call of Cthulhu editions.

 

[Zaukrie]

I've been wondering the same thing.

As Matt Colville said a couple of days ago, they don't really want analog customers anymore—except as living marketing for their digital subscription services. From WotC's point of view, six people sitting around a table with pens, paper, dice, and a few legally purchased books are not customers. They're freeloaders.

But I think they'll stick with print editions, considering them essentially as loss leaders.

These books are best sellers in Amazon. I don't think they are going away soon. That doesn't mean they don't also want us digital.....

 

[Charlaquin]

Also, if you absolutely want to keep playing "official" D&D just buy the books used.
I bet that probably bothers them more than not playing at all.

No. If you want to stop supporting WotC, you have to stop giving them money. For subscriptions, for books, for PDFs, for merch, for anything.

 

[DMZ2112]

I completely agree, but (admission time) I signed up just to get the stoopid playtest packets.

Ah, crap, I meant to say 'subscription,' not account. I'll modify my original post. Reasonable minds could agree with both points, of course.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

People should do what they want, of course, but continuing to play D&D promotes D&D (especially at cons or other public space). Folks should consider that when deciding how far they personally want to go in punishing WotC.

Very little of D&D play is public.

For all you know, I'm actually teaching Satanic practices to my "players" at home games.

I think the secondary market is the way to go for people with ongoing games where they want to keep buying books. You can specifically purchase second-hand books from Noble Knight, for instance. (I'm about to offload a big-name MIP Kickstarter item there that I realized that, independent of WotC shenanigans, I'll never actually play.)