According to credible sources, Dungeons and Dragons is considering creating a subscription system for One D&D that would have a steep monthly cost. These rumors are the next development in the evolving situation pertaining to Dungeons and Dragons' attempts to impose greater control on content creators with changes to the Open Game License.These rumors were first presented by Hos of Dungeon Scribe, a Dungeons and Dragons content creator and artist for products like Munchkin: Critical Role, and later verified by DnD Shorts, a famous D&D TikTok personality and vocal proponent of the recent OpenDnD trend on Twitter. Both creators confirm these leaks have been verified by sources within Wizards of the Coast.According to the leak, Dungeons and Dragons would be overhauling the subscription service for D&D Beyond at the behest of Wizards of the Coast digital game vice president Chris Cao. The highest tier would cost $30 a month and would include special content drops. Homebrew would be banned from use in the lower tiers, and Dungeons and Dragons still plans to deauthorize the original OGL in the process. The leak also introduces the idea of AI-DMs, which would use stripped-down gameplay for players who don’t have a dungeon master.
The Dungeons and Dragons community has been on fire for the last couple of weeks since the first rumors began in this ongoing controversy. This most recent leak claims the popular DnDBegone Twitter trend caused over 40,000 people to cancel their existing D&D Beyond subscriptions already.
Considering the circumstances, it is hard to believe a drastic change to D&D Beyond’s subscription service would be received well by Dungeons and Dragons players right now. Many fans are already angry at Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro for their recent actions. Were it to reveal a monthly cost more expensive than an MMORPG, it could damage the brand even further.
Many players are already giving up on Dungeons and Dragons entirely in favor of its competitors. Pathfinder creator Paizo recently revealed it was spearheading the Open RPG Creative License–a competing document for free use by all TTRPGs. Kobold Press and MCDM also announced their own tabletop systems were in development, and many other third-party publishers are cutting ties with Wizards of the Coast. Dungeons and Dragons’ recent response to the evolving situation did not inspire hope for many players, but it is still possible that continued pressure from the community could force Wizards of the Coast to change its plans.
Dungeons and Dragons is available now. One D&D is in development.