Updated D&D Open Game License is Leaked to the Public

An unauthorized leak of Wizards of the Coast’s “Open Game License 1.1 ” raises more questions and concerns for third-party content creators.

Over the past few months there has been a growing controversy surrounding the D&D Open Game License (OGL); a set of legal guidelines from Dungeons & Dragons publisher Wizards of the Coast detailing the specific materials that can (and can’t) be used in published third-party materials.

The controversy began in early December 2022, with online rumors that Wizards of the Coast was planning to scrap the OGL as part of their upcoming One D&D playtest; a move which would have threatened the livelihood of numerous third-party publishers and potentially shelving what fans have often referred to as an “Open D&D” system.

Shortly after the rumors and uproar began, Wizards of the Coast posted an official statement on the D&D Beyond platform assuring Dungeons & Dragons fans that the the OGL was not going away. Instead, they indicated that there would be several upcoming changes to the Open Game License, including:

• Publishers making over $50K must report their earnings
• Publishers making over $750K in profits must pay royalties
• An Official OGL badge must appear on all materials
• New language would limit creation of unlicensed miniatures, novels and NFTS

In the official D&D Beyond post, Wizards also indicated that details would be released in early 2023 in the form of an updated “OGL 1.1.”

Now it seems that an unofficial draft of the OGL 1.1 has been leaked to the website Gizmodo.

What’s allegedly changing in the new OGL 1.1?

It’s important to note that what’s been revealed is not official and Wizards of the Coast has not confirmed that this will indeed be the final draft of the new OGL 1.1.

That being said, in addition to the items already announced by Wizards in their OGL post on D&D Beyond, here’s what has supposedly changed, according to the leaked document.

• It’s much longer: The current OGL license is a relatively short document, coming in at under 900 words. The leaked OGL 1.1 document, however, is over 9,000 words long and encompasses a much wider range of legal definitions and use cases.
• New Technology: The updated OGL 1.1 addresses new technologies that haven’t been covered in previous versions. This includes restrictions related to blockchain and NFTs, both of which have become problematic for Wizards of the Coast over the past few years.
• Diversity & inclusion is codified: The leaked OGL 1.1 takes a strong stance against bigoted content, explicitly stating the company may terminate the agreement if third-party creators publish material that is “blatantly racist, sexist, homophobic, trans-phobic, bigoted or otherwise discriminatory.” This comes hot on the heels of Wizards of the Coast recently suing a third-party publisher for producing discriminatory content.
• OGL 1.0 is no longer binding: One of the biggest changes found in the leaked document is that the previous OGL will no longer be valid. This means third-party publishers operating under the existing OGL may have to overhaul their products and distribution in order to comply with the updated rules.
• Revenue Tiers: While Wizards has previously indicated that certain revenue amounts will be impacted by the updated OGL, they have apparently codified this in OGL 1.1, breaking it down into three “tiers”: Initiate Tier (under $50K in revenue), Intermediate Tier (between $50 and $750K in revenue) and Expert Tier (over $750K in revenue). As Wizards previous stated, Intermediate Tier publishers will now have to report their income to Wizards of the Coast, while Expert Tiers while need to pay royalties.
• Registration required: According to the leaked document, third-party publishers will have to register all new products with Wizards of the Coast, regardless of what revenue tier they are in.
• Kickstarter preferred for crowdsourcing: Online crowdfunding is something that hasn’t really been addressed in the current OGL. In the alleged 1.1. license, however, Expert Tier publishers will now pay 20% royalties on revenue generated by Kickstarter and 25% royalties on any crowdfunding revenue generated from non-Kickstarter sources.
• Non-Commercial vs. Commercial: The leak OGL 1.1 document also indicates that users are now required to indicate whether they are creating materials for commercial or commercial purposes. This means that even publishers offering products for free will be bound by the rules of the OGL..
• Licensed vs Non-Licensed: Additionally, all creators will need to clearly and deliberately distinguish “their content” from “licensed content.” The new document reads that this must be done “in a way that allows a reader of Your Licensed Work to understand the distinction without checking any other document.” The updated OGL suggests a different color font, asterisks on the page, “or putting a separate index or list in the back of Your Licensed Work that lists out what, exactly, You used from the Systems Reference Document (SRD).”
• Termination notice: One other notable featured of the leaked document is that Wizards of the Coast “can modify or terminate this agreement for any reason whatsoever, provided We give thirty days’ notice.” This is a marked change over what currently exists and definitely provides more leverage for Wizards of the Coast in dealing with publishers.
• Wizards of the Coast still retains rights: According to the OGL 1.1 leak, Wizards of the Coast will still retain the right to use any content that licensees create, whether it’s for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Specifically the document notes that Wizards will have a “nonexclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, sub-licensable, royalty-free license to use that content for any purpose.”
• Certain content types no longer supported: While the original OGL did not specifically outline what kind of content third-party creators could make available and profit from, the updated OGL is very specific. The updated 1.1 license “only allows for creation of roleplaying games and supplements in printed media and static electronic file formats. It does not allow for anything else, including but not limited to things like videos, virtual tabletops or VTT campaigns, computer games, novels, apps, graphics novels, music, songs, dances, and pantomimes.”
• Fan content unaffected: Wizards current Fan Content Policy doesn’t appear to be impacted by the updated OGL 1.1. Instead, users will still be allowed to generate free content “based on or incorporating our IP. Fan Content includes fan art, videos, podcasts, blogs, websites, streaming content, tattoos, altars to your cleric’s deity, etc.”

What’s Next for the D&D OGL?

It’s again important to note that the leaked OGL 1.1 is not an official document provided by Wizards of the Coast (who at the time of this publication have not responded to requests for comment). If the document is indeed close to the final version, however, it seems clear that Wizards of the Coast may be expecting resistance from both fans and publishers. In fact, the document notes they “will receive community pushback and bad PR, and We’re more than open to being convinced that We made a wrong decision.”

It’s unclear when the final OGL 1.1 will be released, but according to the leak it should occur sometime in early January 2023. In the meantime, we’ll be keeping a close eye on this story as its develops and will update with more information as it’s made available.

More D&D News Coverage

For more from the world of Wizards of the Coast, visit our D&D News page.