Last week, a report emerged from Gizmodo that said D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast would be revising its Open Gaming License for the game, a document that so far has allowed a huge range of independent publishers to create their own games based on the basic D&D ruleset. The revisions would mean that fans and third-party publishers would be restricted in what they can make, as well as anyone making money having to report products to Wizards of the Coast directly. Now, Wizards of the Coast has released a statement on the situation through a blog post, and shared its plans going forward.
The post explains that there were three main goals in wanting to revise the OGL, the first being that it prevents D&D from being used in "hateful and discriminatory products." The second goal was that it wanted to make clear that OGL content could only be used for "tabletop role-playing content like campaigns, modules, and supplements," as opposed to controversial tech like web3, blockchain games, and NFTs. And the last goal was that "the OGL is for the content creator, the homebrewer, the aspiring designer, our players, and the community--not major corporations to use for their own commercial and promotional purpose."
Apparently some content creators and publishers were provided early drafts over the new OGL to gather feedback, with certain royalty language "designed to apply to large corporations attempting to use OGL content. It was never [Wizard of the Coast's] intent to impact the vast majority of the community."
There are still plans to create a revised version of the OGL, with the intent to "specify that it covers only content for TTRPGs," meaning "other expressions, such as educational and charitable campaigns, livestreams, cosplay, VTT-uses, etc., will remain unaffected by any OGL update," and content released under the original OGL will not be affected either.
www.gamespot.com
The post explains that there were three main goals in wanting to revise the OGL, the first being that it prevents D&D from being used in "hateful and discriminatory products." The second goal was that it wanted to make clear that OGL content could only be used for "tabletop role-playing content like campaigns, modules, and supplements," as opposed to controversial tech like web3, blockchain games, and NFTs. And the last goal was that "the OGL is for the content creator, the homebrewer, the aspiring designer, our players, and the community--not major corporations to use for their own commercial and promotional purpose."
Apparently some content creators and publishers were provided early drafts over the new OGL to gather feedback, with certain royalty language "designed to apply to large corporations attempting to use OGL content. It was never [Wizard of the Coast's] intent to impact the vast majority of the community."
There are still plans to create a revised version of the OGL, with the intent to "specify that it covers only content for TTRPGs," meaning "other expressions, such as educational and charitable campaigns, livestreams, cosplay, VTT-uses, etc., will remain unaffected by any OGL update," and content released under the original OGL will not be affected either.
Wizards Of The Coast Admits Missteps In New OGL, Is Making Major Changes
The company has been embroiled in controversy following earlier reports of the supposed changes.
www.gamespot.com
