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A recent leak of Wizards of the Coast’s OGL 1.1 has made Dungeons & Dragons fans and content creators furious. This resulted in an enormous amount of public backlash, and for several days, the company was quiet about the situation.
Following this, on January 13, 2023, Wizards of the Coast made an official statement about the leaked content. There were several portions of the Dungeons & Dragons’ Open Gaming License that infuriated and worried fans. It primarily came down to paying royalties to Wizards of the Coast, and the notion that their content could be used by the company without warning, and without compensation.
“However, it’s clear from the reaction that we rolled a 1. It has become clear that it is no longer possible to fully achieve all three goals while still staying true to our principles. So, here is what we are doing.”
Wizards of the Coast released a statement on the leaked Dungeons & Dragons OGL 1.1
Wizards of the Coast opened up about the leak and made an official statement, clarifying that their plan was always to get input from the community before releasing anything permanent for Dungeons & Dragons.
According to Wizards of the Coast and the Dungeons & Dragons Beyond staff, they had three goals in mind while developing the next OGL, which have been mentioned below:
“First, we wanted the ability to prevent the use of D&D content from being included in hateful and discriminatory products. Second, we wanted to address those attempting to use D&D in web3, blockchain games, and NFTs by making clear that OGL content is limited to tabletop roleplaying content like campaigns, modules, and supplements. And third, we wanted to ensure 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.”
From what fans learned about the Open Gaming License, none of these were addressed. In fact, most people feared what was going to happen to Dungeons & Dragons in the future. Wizards of the Coast’s leaked document discussed royalties, the developers being able to utilize fan content without warning, and other worrying details.
It was a rational fear, considering the words that were used in the original leaks from Wizards of the Coast. The notion that Dungeons & Dragons content creators, if they started doing too well, would have to pay royalties to Wizards of the Coast resulted in a great deal of anger from the community. Such a move could have stifled numerous crowdfunded ventures in the future as well.
“What it will not contain is any royalty structure. It also will not include the license back provision that some people were afraid was a means for us to steal work. That thought never crossed our minds. Under any new OGL, you will own the content you create. We won’t.”
According to the company, the language used in those leaked documents was to protect fans and their partners from various forms of theft. In order to protect themselves from that in the future, the next OGL will have something to protect against accusations of theft. However, it won’t require a license back from Dungeons & Dragons creators, and it won’t claim that Wizards owns fan content.
“We realize we did not do that this time and we are sorry for that. Our goal was to get exactly the type of feedback on which provisions worked and which did not–which we ultimately got from you. Any change this major could only have been done well if we were willing to take that feedback, no matter how it was provided–so we are.”
Additionally, it seems like the upcoming OGL won't be revealed anytime soon. Wizards of the Coast informed fans that they plan to receive plenty of community input before any official announcement.
It’s unclear what the next Open Gaming License will feature for Dungeons & Dragons, but the Wizards have stated that they want a chance to make things right and prove that they care about their players and content creators.
Fans aren’t convinced by Wizards of the Coast’s response
Shortly after the response came through about the leaked Dungeons & Dragons OGL, several fans and content creators provided their takes on the company's press release.
Unfortunately, not many fans were convinced by the response. While some accused Wizards of the Coast of gaslighting, others stated that the company was being disingenuous. A few Twitter users said they understood the need to make a profit, but that the company's intentions in the leaked OGL 1.1 seemed pretty clear.
Critical Role, the popular Dungeons & Dragons series, made an official statement as well, although many see it as a generic response instead of taking a hard stance alongside fans.
For now, the community is eager to see what comes next from Wizards. Whatever the next OGL features, Dungeons & Dragons fans are likely going to scrutinize every element of it. As of now, the company seems to have lost a great deal of faith from its fans.
