D&D community in uproar over Hasbro’s plan to profit from fan-made content (game news).
Dungeons & Dragons fans are in an uproar over the proposed changes to the Open Game License that would grant Wizards of the Coast, a Hasbro subsidiary, ownership of fan-made IP, and allow them to profit from it without compensating the creators. Under the new agreement, companies that make over $750,000 would have to pay Hasbro a 25% cut of their earnings.
Many fans argue that the appeal of D&D is that it’s about the stories that they tell together at the table, and they fear that the proposed changes would stifle the community’s ability to create and share new content. The proposed license also endangers the existence of virtual tabletop software, which makes remote play possible.
The proposed license also includes a clause that states that creators who make over $50,000 will have to report their income to WoTC, and those who make over $750,000 will have to pay a 25% royalty to the company on every dollar above that threshold. This puts pressure on creators as they are working on small margins and a 25% royalty can make it difficult for them to continue to produce.
The license also grants WoTC the ability to publish independent creators’ work as its own, which is a concern for many creators.
WoTC has remained silent in light of the backlash against the leak of OGL 1.1 and it is not clear how, when, or if this change will go into effect. However, the company stated last year that it would make these changes.
