Dungeons and Dragons’ OGL controversy may be over for the time being, but Paizo and Kobold Press are carrying forward with their own projects. Though Wizards of the Coast’s recent concessions were a huge win for TTRPG players, these two Dungeons and Dragons competitors have no plans to change course now.
Recently, Dungeons and Dragons was mired in a controversy after it tried to change the Open Game License–the agreement allowing third-party publishers to make content without facing legal action. During this time, several Dungeons and Dragons competitors, including Pathfinder creator Paizo and former Wizards of the Coast partner Kobold Press, announced new ventures of their own. Dungeons and Dragons later backpedaled on its plans, but these companies are still moving forward with their own projects.
Paizo announced it was sponsoring the Open Creative RPG License, or ORC–a free, system-agnostic agreement that would allow creators to publish content for games protected by the license without limitations. In a recent Twitter post, Paizo welcomed the news that Wizards of the Coast had decided to leave the OGL in place, but declared its belief the ORC was still necessary. It stated the first draft should be ready for review by February.
Kobold Press likewise thanked Wizards of the Coast but confirmed development of its new tabletop roleplaying system, Project Black Flag, would continue apace. Its timeline is unchanged, and players can expect the first phase of playtesting to drop in February as well. It did, however, confirm Project Black Flag would be compatible with 5th Edition, and that its future products would embrace D&D and expand upon it, seemingly in a similar fashion to what Pathfinder 1st Edition did with 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons.
Many players are glad to see companies like Paizo and Kobold Press are not abandoning their projects just because Wizards of the Coast conceded. It lost a lot of good faith from its recent actions concerning Dungeons and Dragons, and Wizards of the Coast will have to work hard to rebuild the trust of its community. At press time, Wizards of the Coast has yet to make a statement on Paizo’s ORC or Kobold Press’ Project Black Flag.
The recent OGL controversy unintentionally sparked a TTRPG renaissance. Pathfinder has seen record sales in the past weeks, and new Dungeons and Dragons projects by big names like Matt Colville have joined Kobold Press in the development stage. With One D&D slated to release in 2024, tabletop fans will have a lot of games to experiment with over the next year.
Dungeons and Dragons is available now. One D&D is in development.