Wizards of the Coast Unveils OGL 1.2, Controversy and Criticism Follow – Wizards of the Coast has officially released the public with OGL 1.2, the most recent version of their Open Gaming License. Wizards apologised and reworked OGL 1.1 after leaked draughts caused outrage throughout the whole Dungeons & Dragons community by imposing a 25% fee on authors and opened the door to content theft. Days later, D&D executive producer Kyle Brink apologised once more while also promising that the next version of OGL would be created with input from the D&D community.
THE LAST OF US’S ICONIC INTRO WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
In order to achieve this, Wizards of the Coast has made OGL 1.2 available for discussion. According to the website for D&D Beyond, “There is no distinction between commercial and non-commercial use, no payment of royalties, no financial reporting, no license-back, and no registration. Nothing will change regarding any OGL 1.0a content you have already published. That will always be OGL 1.0a licenced.” This was a major issue with content being published for D&D by independent publishers and smaller creators.
D&D BEYOND DENIES RUMORS OF SUBSCRIPTION FEE INCREASE, REMOVAL OF HOMEBREW CONTENT
However, some provisions in OGL 1.2 continue to worry some players and creatives. Wizards acknowledged that content released under OGL 1.0a is secure in a post on D&D Beyond, but OGL 1.2 still revokes the original OGL, which some fans are calling a “non-starter.” Hateful content was never a problem, according to authors, and OGL 1.2 gives Wizards the last say over what gets published and what doesn’t. Wizards claims that it needs to revoke the prior licence in order to impose new protection measures that restrict it.
Starting our playtest with a Creative Commons license and an irrevocable new OGL. https://t.co/fsnasY6y4Q
— Dungeons & Dragons (@Wizards_DnD) January 19, 2023
In addition, OGL 1.2 mandates that users give up their right to a jury or class-action trial in the event of a legal disagreement. While players are unlikely to care, major third-party publishers are concerned by these conditions because they suggest that Wizards is once again trying to usurp the authority of creators.
D&D BEYOND DENIES RUMORS OF SUBSCRIPTION FEE INCREASE, REMOVAL OF HOMEBREW CONTENT
On Twitter and Reddit, people are still criticising the new licence, but the atmosphere is still largely unfavourable. Changes are not only conceivable but also expected because Wizards did state that this will be an iterative process and that this paper is still only a draught. In the upcoming days, we’ll see how far WotC is ready to budge.
Starting our playtest with a Creative Commons license and an irrevocable new OGL. https://t.co/fsnasY6y4Q
— Dungeons & Dragons (@Wizards_DnD) January 19, 2023
THE LAST OF US’S ICONIC INTRO WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY DIFFERENT
