Dungeons and Dragonshas put out a response to the recent rumors that Wizards of the Coast would be pulling support for third-party content inOne D&D. While the response did not give specifics towards its plans,Dungeons and Dragonsseems to want to continue to support homebrew onceOne D&Dis released in 2024.
Earlier this year,Dungeons and DragonsannouncedOne D&D–an evergreen evolution of5th Editionthat would replace the edition system of the past. However, YouTube content creator Indestructoboy shared that a trusted contact within Wizards of the Coast had reportedDungeons and Dragonsmay not renew the Open Game License forOne D&D. This would effectively make publishing third-party content forOne D&Dimpossible without explicit permission from Wizards of the Coast.
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ComicBook.com reached out to Wizards of the Coast seeking clarification on the future of the OGL and the accompanying System Reference Document. Wizards of the Coast responded to the rumors with the following statement:
“We will continue to support the thousands of creators making third-party D&D content with the release of One D&D in 2024. While it is certain our Open Game License (OGL) will continue to evolve, just as it has since its inception, we’re too early in the development of One D&D to give more specifics on the OGL or System Reference Document (SRD) at this time.”
Wizards of the Coast’s statement seems to indicate it wants to continue allowing players to make third-party content inOne D&D, though it did not give any specifics as to how. It seems unlikely Wizards of the Coast will completely abandon the OGL like it did in4th Edition, but it is possible itsOne D&Devolution could be different–and possibly more restrictive.
Though the statement seems hopeful, manyDungeons and Dragonsplayers are not comforted by the words of Wizards of the Coast. With its recent acquisition ofD&D Beyond, it would not surprise many fans ifWizards of the Coast continued to try and monopolize third-party contentas well. Many fear the new Open Game License will be restrictive in where it can be used, and wonder if Wizards of the Coast might only allow work to be published on Dungeon Masters Guild–a WotC-owned digitalDungeons and Dragonsretailer which shares 50% of the seller’s profit–and if it might attempt to rescind parts of the existing5th EditionOGL.
Nevertheless, it at least seems like Wizards of the Coast isn’t going to completely kill homebrew inOne D&D. WhileDungeons and Dragonscreators who make a living by selling third-party contentmay not be able to rest easy yet, they can at least have hope their ways of life won’t come crashing down. Until it is ready to share specifics on the fate of the OGL and SRD inOne D&D, it is best to take both the rumor and the accompanying statement from Wizards of the Coast with a grain of salt.
