Bestselling games based on the Dungeons & Dragons ruleset could be either dazed or petrified if a leaked document outlining changes to the Open Gaming License is correct.
On Thursday a report from io9, based on an allegedly leaked internal document from Dungeons & Dragons publisher Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast, says parts of the document pull the rug out from under the creators, who are currently creating content using Wizards’ intellectual property. If enforced as written, io9 reports, it could jeopardize revenue streams for companies like Pathfinder maker Paizo, Kobold Press, Green Ronin, and others.
io9’s analysis of the document states that it invalidates the previous Open Gaming License – the framework that allows other companies and developers to use a version of D&D’s widespread rules, if not its intellectual property – and this previous agreement considers invalid.
Last month, Wizards said the OGL “needs an update to ensure it continues to do what it’s supposed to do,” which is “allowing the independent developers of the D&D community to bring the game we all love to.” develop, play and extend – without allowing things like third parties to shape D&D NFTs and big companies to use our intellectual property.”
The OGL 1.0 was developed and refined in advance of the 3rd edition of D&D. It is part of the legal framework that allows creators to benefit from work derived from Wizards intellectual property. In December, Wizards announced that it would update the OGL with increased fidelity – that it would only apply to written content and static digital files (like PDFs) and that creators would have to report related earnings back to Wizards on an annual basis. Additionally, creators making more than $750,000 annually from these projects would eventually have to pay back a royalty to Wizards.
The leaked draft of the OGL 1.1, which io9 says has been seen in full, reiterates those claims in additional detail — 9,000 detail words, according to the outlet. But there’s a catch:
One of the biggest changes to the document is that it updates the previously available OGL 1.0 to state that it is “no longer an authorized license agreement”. With the termination of the original OGL, many licensed publishers will have to completely overhaul their products and distribution to comply with the updated rules. Large publishers that focus almost exclusively on products based on the original OGL, including Paizo, Kobold Press, and Green Ronin, will be under pressure to update their business model incredibly quickly.
The OGL does not apply to fan-made content distributed for free. For this, Wizards relies on the more restrictive one Fan Content Policy company wide.
Green Ronin founder Chris Pramas was reached for comment, telling Polygon:
Our house system these days is actually my Adventure Game Engine (AGE) that powers it The wide, Blue Rose, modern age, Cthulhu awakens, Fantasy AGEand the fifth season (crowdfunding later this month). We’ve done some 5E supports like that book of devils and Book of the Righteousand the upcoming one Twilight Accord setting. Our biggest use of OGL these days is Mutants & Masterminds, our long-running superhero RPG from 2002, now in its third installment. It remains one of our most popular games, and it also has its own third-party publishing agreement called M&M Superlink, which allows other companies to publish compatible material. This new OGL is obviously aimed at people making big bucks from D&D, but the OGL does a lot more than that. Many other games have been released under the OGL, so attempting to revoke them will have consequences that the WotC Management seems not to have thought it through.
EN Publishing CEO Russ Morrissey also chimed in via email:
For now, let’s wait and see what happens. We haven’t seen the final document yet, but we are strong proponents of open play and hope it continues. We believe open play is only beneficial to the games we love and allow those games to develop strong third party support. We have been publishing under the OGL for 20 years and hope to continue doing so for another 20 years along with the rest of the amazing Open Gaming community.
Paizo declined to comment.
Another new feature of OGL 1.1, according to io9, is that it can encourage creators to use the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform:
Online crowdfunding is a new phenomenon since the original OGL was created, and the new license seeks to clarify how and where these fundraising campaigns can take place. OGL 1.1 states that if creators are members of the Expert tier, “if your licensed work is crowdfunded or sold through a platform other than Kickstarter, you will pay a 25% royalty on qualifying sales” and “if your licensed work is crowdfunded on Kickstarter, our preferred crowdfunding platform, you only pay a 20% royalty on qualifying sales.”
Kickstarter has recently seen increased competition from alternative crowdfunding outlets, including Gamefound and Backerkit. Such a partnership, formally enshrined in OGL 1.1, would encourage the largest D&D crowdfunding campaigns to use Kickstarter’s services.
Recently, large-scale 5th Edition D&D-compatible crowdfunding projects have raised significant revenue on Kickstarter. Among them are Chris Metzen’s Auroboros setting, which grossed more than $1.2 million in 2022; EN Publishing’s Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition that deserves it close to $830,000; and Tracy and Laura Hickman’s (Dragonlance) Skyraiders of Abarax setting that ascended more than $500,000.
Kickstarter confirmed to Polygon that it has discussed a plan with Wizards, but denies its direct involvement in OGL 1.1. In a statement, Kickstarter said Wizards of the Coast recently approached him about those royalties – and it pushed back.
“We’re not part of the license agreement,” Kate Bernyk, Kickstarter’s senior communications director, said in an email to Polygon. “When we were contacted by Wizards after they decided to change the OGL, we campaigned for Kickstarter creators to have a lower percentage because we know what they’re going through during the creative process. And there are other things we’re actively working on that will help give even more back to the Kickstarter community. We encourage Wizards to take royalty-funded fees and put them back into a small creator fund.”
Kickstarter was contacted after WoTC decided to make OGL changes, so we felt it was the best move to advocate for the creators, which we did. Managed to get a lower percentage and more discussion. No hidden benefits / no financial kickbacks for KS. Of course, that’s their license, not ours. https://t.co/jHwX1JQKXM
— Jon Knight (@jonritter) January 5, 2023
Jon Ritter-Roderick, Director of Games at Kickstarter, also sent a tweet reflecting that statement.
“We managed to get fewer percentages and discuss more,” Ritter-Roderick said in the tweet. “No hidden benefits / no financial kickbacks for KS. That is of course their license, not ours.”
When Polygon reached him, a Gamefound representative declined to comment. Polygon has also reached out to Backerkit and will update this story when the company responds.