You don’t need WOTC to play D&D
But perhaps the biggest cultural component of this backlash is that Dungeons & Dragons is a game that does not need Wizards of the Coast. Players are cooperating to have an adventure and tell a story; sure, they might use rule books sold by WOTC to facilitate that storytelling, but it’s entirely possible —and quite common— to just make up your own rules, or use old rules you bought decades ago.
D&D doesn’t need digital updates, it doesn’t need new installments, it doesn’t need more hardware or accessories. The mass movement to unsubscribe from D&D Beyond showed that it is just a tool, and not in any way essential to the game that people want to play.
To many fans, the OGL 1.1 seemed to represent a bunch of business executives telling them how to play D&D. That was never going to go over well.
