Statement on OGL from WotC

Wizards of the Coast has made a short statement regarding the ongoing rumors surrounding OneD&D and the Open Gaming License. In a short response to Comicbook.com, the company said "We will continue to support the thousands of creators making third-party D&D content with the release of One D&D in 2024. While it is certain our Open Game License (OGL) will continue to evolve, just as it has since its inception, we're too early in the development of One D&D to give more specifics on the OGL or System Reference Document (SRD) at this time."

Dungeons & Dragons Clarifies Support for Third-Party Material as New Edition Draws Near

Wizards of the Coast has responded to rumors of changes to the Open Game License and System [...]

comicbook.com

It's not clear what WotC means when they say that the OGL will 'continue to evolve' -- while there have been two versions of the license released over the years, each is non-rescindible so people are free to use whichever version of the license they wish. Indeed, that is written into the license itself -- "Wizards or its designated Agents may publish updated versions of this License. You may use any authorized version of this License to copy, modify and distribute any Open Game Content originally distributed under any version of this License."

During the D&D 4th Edition era, WotC published a new, separate license called the Game System Licence (GSL). While it was used by third party publishers, it was generally upopular.

 

[humble minion]

Honestly, they really emphasised their roots in the fandom, I suspect profits we're never their only goal, they just had to couch things in those terms to sway other investors, as fans I think they weren't happy with the direction of WotC.

Or else they were deliberately trying to astroturf themselves as 'true fans' to manufacture support from the fanbase for their profit-motivated corporate maneuvering. But we'll never know one way or the other.

 

[Irlo]

Honestly, they really emphasised their roots in the fandom, I suspect profits we're never their only goal, they just had to couch things in those terms to sway other investors, as fans I think they weren't happy with the direction of WotC.

I’ve been called cynical.

 

[Dausuul]

Honestly, they really emphasised their roots in the fandom, I suspect profits we're never their only goal, they just had to couch things in those terms to sway other investors, as fans I think they weren't happy with the direction of WotC.

Generally I'm inclined not to think people's motivations are more noble than their public statements let on.

 

[Bohandas]

They are obviously trying to monetise D&D, but depending on how this plays out they may end up doing the opposite of "protecting" the investment. The story of the goose that laid the golden egg springs to mind. EDIT: To be clear, I am not saying this will kill D&D (unlike the poor goose). But it might end up making quite a dent in it.

If this actually happens I hope it does kill D&D. I still think that nobody should habe switched back to D&D from Pathfinder

 

[UngainlyTitan]

If this actually happens I hope it does kill D&D. I still think that nobody should habe switched back to D&D from Pathfinder

You can like what you like but I really like 5e, I even like the proposed changes to 5e. This makes me sad.

 

[Remathilis]

Comment coming

@Morrus

 

[Stalker0]

Comment coming

@Morrus

The big elephant in the room is the leaked document. There are really only 3 scenarios:

1) the document is fake, or an unreleased draft, aka unofficial. If that was the case, seems weird for WOTC to not say that.

2) the document is real but only for the few companies it was sent to, and the more general OGL will be “kinder”. Sucks for those poor sods but ok for the rest of us. Wotc might stay quiet to get them to sign… i mean they are obviously going to find out once the general doc is released, so it’s not like hiding that fact is going to hold us long term.

3) the document is a true representation of wotcs plan. In this case the releases statement is just standard corporate bs.

 

[bedir than]

The big elephant in the room is the leaked document. There are really only 3 scenarios:

1) the document is fake, or an unreleased draft, aka unofficial. If that was the case, seems weird for WOTC to not say that.

2) the document is real but only for the few companies it was sent to, and the more general OGL will be “kinder”. Sucks for those poor sods but ok for the rest of us. Wotc might stay quiet to get them to sign… i mean they are obviously going to find out once the general doc is released, so it’s not like hiding that fact is going to hold us long term.

3) the document is a true representation of wotcs plan. In this case the releases statement is just standard corporate bs.

4) the document was real. They've changed their mind now.


Losing their largest 3pp partner may have changed things

 

[UngeheuerLich]

If this actually happens I hope it does kill D&D. I still think that nobody should habe switched back to D&D from Pathfinder

Bad attitude.

Very bad. There are people who never liked Pathfinder and do actually like D&D.

I don't go around saying: I hope that kills Pathfinder.

 

[Wasteland Knight]

4) the document was real. They've changed their mind now.


Losing their largest 3pp partner may have changed things

Who did they lose?

 

[bedir than]

Who did they lose?

Kobold Press

 

[deganawida]

My guess is just them stating that they’re aware of the leak, and, to avoid confusion, they are making 1.1 public for everyone to read. That’s it.

I work in medium and large corporations. I have supported the executives for a global leader that sells its cheapest product at $65,000,000. The self-awareness needed to realize this mistake is not really present at this level of corporate America.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I keep returning to this thread thinking each update is an actual WotC statement.

 

[glass]

Corporate people, those who ask "What do we have?" as opposed to "What can we find or create" should never be allowed to make these decisions. They always follow the money.

They always try to follow the money (which TBF is their job). They often turn out to be terrible at it, though!

2) the document is real but only for the few companies it was sent to, and the more general OGL will be “kinder”. Sucks for those poor sods but ok for the rest of us. Wotc might stay quiet to get them to sign… i mean they are obviously going to find out once the general doc is released, so it’s not like hiding that fact is going to hold us long term.

Would trying to get someone to sign a contract based on an OGL you never plan to actually release not be fraud? If they actually did that, never mind civil consequences - people should be going to gaol!

 

[Wasteland Knight]

I keep returning to this thread thinking each update is an actual WotC statement.

Has WOTC said anything beyond “well make a statement”?

 

[Greg Benage]

Has WOTC said anything beyond “well make a statement”?

This is the only thing they've posted since January 4.

 

[Riley]

This is the only thing they've posted since January 4.

“All of our agents are busy at this time. Your call is very important to us. Please stay on the line and your call will be answered in the order it was received.”

 

[deganawida]

This is the only thing they've posted since January 4.

Best part of that? Posted at exactly 1300 Pacific. Probably scheduled via a tool to post at that time (don't have Twitter, don't know what they have that could do that, but I imagine that they have a feature that's been in email for over 25 years...).

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

Finally, something.

An Update on the Open Game License (OGL)

Although we are not yet able to release the OGL at this time, we would like to update you on how things are developing, and the goals we have in mind fo...

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[Eric V]

""We will continue to support the thousands of creators making third-party D&D content with the release of One D&D in 2024."
...if you sign up with OGL1.1, probably. That's how I read it, anyway.