Wizards of the Coast apologizes to Dungeons & Dragons players

Olivia Richman Published 28/01/2023

Wizards of the Coat has apologized to Dungeons & Dragons players, announcing that the open license will remain in place.

Wizards of the Coast was under fire from the gaming community when it announced that it was planning to no longer have an open license for Dungeons & Dragons. This would mean that content creators could no longer freely make content surrounding D&D and that players wouldn’t be allowed to invent their own homebrew content anymore. It was also noted that OneD&D would end the OGL 1.0A.

This was a very unpopular move and a huge backlash ensued. Influencers even claimed Wizards was “ruining” Dungeons & Dragons with this decision, taking away the huge community aspect of the fantasy game. For example, popular podcast Critical Role would no longer be able to create Dungeons & Dragons content.

“The open game license with Dungeons & Dragons is solely responsible for its massive explosion over the last decade. This D&D content, the homebrew and custom campaigns, have been a massive success online,” said YouTuber Charles “MoistCr1TiKaL” White.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGbcHyQ2v3c&t=640s

It appears that Wizards of the Coast has heard the massive outcry from the tabletop community and has responded with a very large update.

Wizards of the Coast to keep 1.0A for OneD&D

Wizards of the Coast created a survey that let Dungeons & Dragons players send in their personal opinions on the licensing situation. The response had WotC promptly reverse their decision, stating that 1.0A will remain for OneD&D. The developer also apologized to the fanbase.

The survey revealed that 89% are dissatisfied with deauthorizing OGL 1.0a and 88% do not want to publish content under OGL 1.2.

“Thank you for your continued dedication and love for Dungeons & Dragons. We are sorry for the pain we’ve caused to the community,” D&DBeyond tweeted.

https://twitter.com/DnDBeyond/status/1619064406641414169?s=20&t=5xIy0NUZz1mUkhu_HZ9PXA

The community responded with mixed feelings. While D&D players were relieved to hear that WotC was leaving the game alone, others were still salty about the entire situation. Many felt that Wizards of the Coast was going to try a similar thing again in the near future. They also told the company to fire people at the top.

How many people play Dungeons & Dragons?

With so many people using D&D their own way, it’s quite difficult to know exactly how many people are playing the tabletop game. But Wizards of the Coast has previously claimed that over 50 million people play the game worldwide.

One of the most popular ways to play D&D is through Roll20. This online tabletop platform has provided some numbers in the past. According to some research by Dungeon Vault, there are 13.7 million active players using Roll20 to play Dungeons & Dragons.

	Roll20	Tabletop D&D Players
D&D 5e	71003	9.5 million
D&D 3.5	24268	3.2 million
D&D 4e	9064	1.2 million
AD&D	5788	0.8 million
TOTAL:	110123	13.7 million

Data via Roll20 and Dungeon Vault

As the popularity of Dungeons & Dragons continues to grow each year, it’s no surprise to see more and more content inspired by the tabletop game. This includes the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie, Honor Among Thieves.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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