When Wizards of the Coast (WotC) made proposed changes to the decades-old Open Games License (OGL), most casual gamers and small creators had to ask. A leaked copy of the release has been sent to the major content producers. Now, WotC promises that any upcoming changes will be made through a “very open and transparent” process.
in Posted on the D&D Beyond forums Today, WotC Executive Producer Kyle Brink writes that “new proposed OGL documents” will be shared publicly on or before Friday, January 20th. At that time, community members will have at least two weeks to provide feedback via a survey with specific questions. and open response fields.
WotC compared the new process to what it was using Game Tests for Unearthed Arcana Documents, often to get feedback on draft mechanics and game ideas that haven’t been fully tested. Brink says that once the new OGL survey is complete, WotC will “compile, analyze, react and report on what we heard from you.”
sorry (I noticed)
Brink explained that there are certain types of fan-generated content that the new OGL does not explicitly affect, including videos, contract services (such as paid Dungeon Master services), and virtual tabletop content. Brink repeated The end of the promise of WotC The new OGL does not charge any fees, does not affect content licensed under OGL 1.0a, and does not require WotC to license creative content (all items conflict with the leaked version of OGL 1.1).
Brink’s post also offers WotC’s direct apology for the OGL debacle. This has led many tablet publishers to abandon WotC in recent weeks.
“We regret that,” Brink wrote. “We got it wrong. Our language and requirements in the OGL Draft were a barrier for creators, not supportive of our primary goals of maintaining and enhancing an inclusive gaming environment and limiting OGL to a TTRPG. Then we kept calm and got things together. For a long time. Frequent and clear communication made it so. When we ban too much, we hurt fans and creators.”
Brink’s post Other WotC connections The leaked OGL 1.1 has been described as a “draft” that has been shared with major content creators “so that their feedback can be considered before anything is finalized.” But some in the community have challenged this characterization, saying OGL 1.1 It is distributed with the attached contract That being said The signing came with a deadline And Pre-negotiated preferential terms for some funding sources.
“The Wizards are trying to say that what we saw on OGL 1.1 was a draft that they sent in for comment,” Major said. this is a lie”. DD Creator of Saddleback for Griffon he said on Instagram last week. Not once did WotC ask for feedback or it’s a draft or any of that stuff. … The thing is, nobody signed on to it, and that’s why they’re fighting it and making a fuss regarding it.”
Wizards of the Coast did not respond to Ars Technica’s request for comment regarding the controversy surrounding the OGL changes.
