Following considerable reaction from the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) community this week, publisher Wizards of the Coast said today that discard some planned license changes that impact fan-created content and projects. But an updated license is yet to come, and it seems that the derivative Web3 content like NFTs in fact it will be prohibited under the new rules.

Wizards of the Coast first shared plans last year to update Dungeons & Dragons’ Open Game License (OGL), which allowed fans and other companies to create and sell derivative works inspired by the tabletop RPG. One of the stated goals in the update was D&D-inspired NFT collectibles and projects.

“The OGL needs an update to ensure it continues to do what it was intended to do: allow independent creators in the D&D community to build, play, and grow the game we all love, while not allowing things like third parties to hoard D&D NFTs and big companies to exploit our intellectual property”, the company wrote in december.

The alleged leaked details of the broader OGL change were published by io9 last week, pointing to alleged changes coming that would charge creators royalties for derivative works, and ban things like paywalls from accessing content for paying subscribers.

The tabletop icon has seen an explosion of popular fan-created Dungeons & Dragons-inspired content in recent years, including the “Critical Role” web series and “The Adventure Zone” podcast and graphic novels. Many content creators rebelled against the reported changes, saying it would hinder their businesses and fan-backed projects.

The OGL update was rumored to be released today, but instead, Wizards of the Coast Announced that it will remove controversial elements from what it said were “early drafts” of the license change. Updates are still coming, but the publisher says the new license won’t include any kind of royalty structure and shouldn’t affect the business models of most spin-off projects.

“It’s clear from the reaction that we got a 1,” the post says, with the publisher stating that it intended to solicit feedback from the community before rolling out the final updated license. Now, with that vocal feedback in hand, Wizards said it will take more time to address player concerns.

“First, we won’t be able to release the new OGL today, because we need to make sure we get it right, but it’s coming,” the post says. “Second, you’re going to hear people say they won and we lost because making their voices heard forced us to change our plans. Those people will only be half right. They won, and so did we.”

Wizards wrote that setting clear boundaries around Web3 technology is one of the basic principles in reshaping OGL, and the post does not suggest that the publisher plans to back down from blocking NFT projects and Web3 games that try to trade in Dungeons. & Dragons. IP.

“We wanted to address those trying to use D&D in Web3, Blockchain games, and NFTs by making it clear that OGL content is limited to tabletop RPG content like campaigns, modules, and add-ons,” the post reads. .

A Wizards of the Coast representative confirmed to decipher that the finalized OGL will continue to specifically address restrictions around third party Web3 uses of Dungeons & Dragons intellectual property.

Wizards of the Coast’s response to the rise of Web3 follows the creation of unofficial D&D projects in space, including gripnrdescribed as a “Web3 company building [5th edition tabletop RPGs] in chain” through Ethereal side chain grid Polygon.

Interestingly, Hasbro, the parent company of Wizards of the Coast, has already made a number of NFT moves, including Funko Pop digital collectibles inspired by Power Rangers and My Little Pony, as well as Starting Lineup NBA Action Figures Combined with NFTs.

In April 2021, former Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said during an earnings call that NFTs they were “a real opportunity” for another Wizards of the Coast property, the popular CCG game Magic: The Gathering. He added that Hasbro “saw multiple opportunities on the NFT side.”

Editor’s Note: This article was updated after publication to include a response from Wizards of the Coast.