The start of #OpenDnD
After enjoying a resurgence of the D&D fandom and benefitting financially and culturally from the attention for almost a decade, a few years ago Wizards started working on a new, updated OGL. We now know this as the OGL 1.1. Fans first became aware of the existence of the OGL 1.1 in late 2022, when rumors began circulating about WOTC calling third party publishers into meetings and asking them to sign non-disclosure agreements. While this is standard business practice, many people were under the impression that this was in advance of a large push by Wizards to attempt to revoke the OGL. The #OpenDnD hashtag was used to rally fans to express their interest in keeping the OGL and, by extension, allowing 3PP to continue their work.
This caused Wizards of the Coast to respond publicly. On December 21 the company assured the community that the OGL wasn’t going anywhere, and that updates were needed in order to “allow the D&D community’s independent creators to build and play and grow the game we all love.” Additionally, the company said that “the OGL is not going away.” This fast response to speculation helped assuage some fears within the community, but many fans were still hesitant.
