All of this saddens me. I only found a love for TTRPG in April 2022 as a 34 year old when I played my first game of D&D.
It's been amazing up until now, but the initial attempt, then the silence while everything was burning down around them, and then the pitiful response... Subscription Cancelled.
I'm told Pathfinder is decent... I guess I'll have to look into that.
Im DONE with WotC and their "apology" doesnt change that. They have to think we are young children if they ever assumed we could fall for this bs. Its so transparently manipulative. "Im sorry you got mad at us" instead of "Sorry we did a greedy company thing", pretending it was sent out for feedback when it was leaked, the very obvious not backbedaling from changing the OGL. They try to pacify the masses, then push for a new "OGL" weakening the old one in a few months. I saw someone speculate they hope for an influx of new players after the movie, which doesnt seem too far fetched - newcomers wouldnt necessarily know about the OGL at all. And their "uwu NFTS Web3" argument is LAUGHABLE! The NFT bubble bust a while ago and AFTER THAT Crypto crashed thanks to SBF. NFTs are worthless. Additionally while the "both won" paragraph seems like ego at first glance, and, if this were the response of a single person, might believe it I think the actual reason behind it is more manipulation. It tries to plant the idea of "You won (and we pretend like we won). We didnt win though, we just got them to stall.
I will continue playing DnD 5e... with the primary books I bought years ago and any third party content I like. Hasbro/WotC wont get my money until the OGL is locked as irrevocable, perpetual, any lawyer speak for "untouchable even in a million years" or WotC/Hasbro sign ORC. And even then I will think long and hard if I want to support a company that so obviously tried to play us for fools. I did support Paizo however so congrats WotC, in trying to hurt your competitor you directly caused me to buy Pathfinder 2e :-D
I get the rage over the ogl 1.1 I canceled my sub myself.
But....
If we rage over a bad decision wanting change and they take that feedback and make changes (and that ends up reflected in the next OGL) and we respond with "no you F'd up I'm gone anyway" then we lose the leverage we have to get changes to happen.
We have high standards for Dnd as a community and they fell short of that no doubt. If that community walks away then next time there is no one to stand up and say "don't do this". Without that then WOTC becomes truly another cog in the corporate money machine and generally speaking multi million dollar company's do not backpedal and make these changes.
I'm not saying they stuck the landing here. They didn't. I'm saying the only thing that separates them from being the greedy money hog we all accused them of being is us. So maybe we don't make the same mistake they did and throw the baby out with the bathwater?
I get the rage over the ogl 1.1 I canceled my sub myself.
But....
If we rage over a bad decision wanting change and they take that feedback and make changes (and that ends up reflected in the next OGL) and we respond with "no you F'd up I'm gone anyway" then we lose the leverage we have to get changes to happen.
We have high standards for Dnd as a community and they fell short of that no doubt. If that community walks away then next time there is no one to stand up and say "don't do this". Without that then WOTC becomes truly another cog in the corporate money machine and generally speaking multi million dollar company's do not backpedal and make these changes.
I'm not saying they stuck the landing here. They didn't. I'm saying the only thing that separates them from being the greedy money hog we all accused them of being is us. So maybe we don't make the same mistake they did and throw the baby out with the bathwater?
No we don’t make concessions till they adopt ORC and fire the people behind it, namely the CEO and current board. Anything less than that and it doesn’t matter. And aside the point this isn’t the first time they pulled something scummy. It’s harsh because they took things too far. Now we are taking our business and creative idea’s elsewhere.
I feel bad for the people who actually work on D&D, who are caught in a difficult, nay impossible situation. Kudos to those who have had the courage to risk their livelihoods to inform the community of Hasbro's malfeasance.
The update they gave is just a gaslighting response and full of lies. The corporate greed from the mobile game execs has come to light. My subscription is canceled, and my PF book is on it's way.
I feel like I'm being taken for a chump. There's no way this was just a test run of the terminology. It sounds like it was already being considered for enforcement on kickstarter. Whats with this all "We all won" nonsense. Wizards tries to grift everyone out of their money and gets caught and we're all winning?
I feel worse having read the update than I ever did before.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"You canceled your subscription on 01/14/2023."
(1) Our job is to be good stewards of the game: Wrong. We are the stewards of the game. You print books.
(2) the OGL exists for the benefit of the fans: Wrong. The OGL exists to benefit Wizards. 3rd party Creators have made your game what it is today.
I get the rage over the ogl 1.1 I canceled my sub myself.
But....
If we rage over a bad decision wanting change and they take that feedback and make changes (and that ends up reflected in the next OGL) and we respond with "no you F'd up I'm gone anyway" then we lose the leverage we have to get changes to happen.
We have high standards for Dnd as a community and they fell short of that no doubt. If that community walks away then next time there is no one to stand up and say "don't do this". Without that then WOTC becomes truly another cog in the corporate money machine and generally speaking multi million dollar company's do not backpedal and make these changes.
I'm not saying they stuck the landing here. They didn't. I'm saying the only thing that separates them from being the greedy money hog we all accused them of being is us. So maybe we don't make the same mistake they did and throw the baby out with the bathwater?
No we don’t make concessions till they adopt ORC and fire the people behind it, namely the CEO and current board. Anything less than that and it doesn’t matter. And aside the point this isn’t the first time they pulled something scummy. It’s harsh because they took things too far. Now we are taking our business and creative idea’s elsewhere.
Pretty much this. This isn't like they accidentally published something insensitive or were trying to do a good deed but messed up. They knowingly and intentionally created a legal document with all this terrible stuff in it, tried to hide it from the public, then when it got leaked tried to backpedal on it and act like it was a simple misunderstanding. Like they're about to release a video with their CEO on a bed with puppies going 'We're Sorry' and think that will be enough. Using D&D terms, this isn't 'I made an attack roll and rolled a nat 1' type of 'I rolled a nat 1'. This is a character deciding to insult the dragon's mother while flashing stolen dragon treasure in front of them and making offensive gestures because you were planning to make an acrobatic dive off the mountain into an ocean to escape, while being a warrior who dumped DEX and is wearing full plate, and getting a nat 1. It's honestly probably for the best that this is being discovered NOW because they at least have a chance to revise it and save some face. If companies had agreed to it and THEN we found out, it would likely be far worse.
I'm not defending the ogl or the response here. All I'm saying is in this case it appears our pulling away our investments in the game in part caused the change. If we still give up those investments then we lose that leverage in the future.
The things you are asking for are not practical option for the company
A)fire the ceo. This is the most likely of the request. And it's not going to happen. Only the board of directors can fire a CEO. In this case that would be hasbros board. These arent people who have a love and investment in D&D. They are a corporate board. Stocks have not really been impacted. CEO will not likely be removed.
B)Fire the board. I do not believe wizards has a board so I assume you mean the Hasbro board of directors. Only the shareholders can do this. Not going to happen.
C)adopt orc. I assume you are suggesting that wizards does what the attempt with orc is and takes the current ogl and places into the hands of a nonprofit or such. Not going to happen. On the upside, if it did you would almost definitely see A and B happen.
WOTC failing or losing money does not help anyone at this point. Think of how many people get thier starting off point in ttrpgs with 5e. Like it or not things like a blockbuster movies brings people to the literal game table. Roll20, fantasy grounds, 3rd party creators, other game systems, and thousands of etsy seller and stl patreons depend on getting people to the table.
D&D is synonymous with tabletop gaming right now. That may change in the future and I hope it does, but as it stands if we leave our investment behind we leave our voice with it.
"D&D is synonymous with tapletop gaming right now".
Right now.
This wasn't a little oopsie, or a bad book - though they've certainly had a few of those in the past. This was a naked power grab, and attempt to take control of even more of the TTRPG space than they already had. And now, afterwards, it's blatant lies. This wasn't a "draft", it was issued to companies under NDA to sign, and negotiations were made with Kickstarter. Even if we were to forgive everything in the initial 1.1 (and I'm not), in the most recent update they've lied to us multiple times.
If they release these smarmy non-apologies and we all fall back in line, they'll just do it again in six months - you'll notice there was no mention in the most recent response about removing the "you agree to any future changes we might make" language. Nothing to stop them releasing this OGL v1.1.2.0 and hoping people sign it, then adding in the "we demand royalties". They may even have the data to do so - there was also no mention of the "report your earnings above 50k", just the paying of royalties.
If those two aspects aren't gone, then my assumption is that Hasbro intends to bring back all the rest of it before One is released.
Hasbro has a year or so before that release. They've got that time to repair the damage done to their reputation by their own actions. Everyone else has that time to reorganise the TTRPG space, to release new systems and for players to work out what they want to do. I've cancelled my Beyond subscription, and our next campaign - whether it's an existing system like Savage Worlds or 2d20, a D&D-alike like LevelUp or PF2, or something brand new like MCDM or Kobold's RPGs - will not be run using it.
I'm not saying Wizards won't ever get my money again... but if their plan to do so is to issue a half-baked non-apology peppered with blatant lies, maybe they won't.
What upsets me the most is the designers of the actual game are just as hurt and upset by this as we are. If the leaks are to be believed (and I don't see why they shouldn't be after being vetted from multiple people), the designers had no idea the C suite was pulling any of this. There are people in both DnDBeyond and Wizards of the Coast that are legitimately scared for the future of the game from what's happening above them in the payroll. I was working on a book of weapons to publish, and was about to start looking for an artist when all of this went down. Until the air is clear and the new OGL is available to view, I can't honestly go through with that safely yet. So much for becoming a publisher myself for now, I guess
In short - don't fall for it. Cancel your Subscription as that is the best data to show Wizards that people are unhappy with the changes being made. A second 'update' to the OGL means they will get a second attempt at trying to screw people over.
There is nothing wrong with the original OGL. That needs to stay.
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
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I'm remaining unsubbed until I am fully satisfied that WotC has committed to a reasonable OGL and THIS TIME that it is irrevocable.
This OSD 2.0 MUST be irrevocable, not include provisions where they have an arbitrary power to withdraw the OGL over some nebulous and subjective definition of "offensive", it must be perpetual, and it must not demand payments or claim ownership of third party materials. Ideally, the license should be held by a third party with no dog in the RPG hunt. Basically they should join the ORC license.
All of this saddens me. I only found a love for TTRPG in April 2022 as a 34 year old when I played my first game of D&D.
It's been amazing up until now, but the initial attempt, then the silence while everything was burning down around them, and then the pitiful response... Subscription Cancelled.
I'm told Pathfinder is decent... I guess I'll have to look into that.
There are a LOT of really great games out there, in such a multitude of genres that you can pretty much find exactly what you want. Even if you can't find an exact match, there are many systems that can create what you want, along with many website and YouTube videos to help. Having played since 1976, I can assure you that while the systems used can contribute to the fun, its the telling of great stories with friends that truly makes roleplaying special. Also, there's no reason in the world that you can't continue using what you have already paid for while not giving them any more money. You can continue using what you have, having fun with your friends, and either continue doing so or use that time to shop around for and learn a different system.
"When we initially conceived of revising the OGL, it was with three major goals in mind. First, we wanted the ability to prevent the use of D&D content from being included in hateful and discriminatory products."
There was no reason you couldn't have dropped a new clause into the existing documents, as other companies have done. Additionally 1.0 and 1.0a already had the ability to selectively revoke the OGL for a specific company/individual if they produced work that was hateful/discriminatory.
"Second, we wanted to address those attempting to use D&D in web3, blockchain games, and NFTs by making clear that OGL content is limited to tabletop roleplaying content like campaigns, modules, and supplements."
Total lie. Hasbro isn't worried about NFTs; Hasbro SELLS NFTs!
"And third, we wanted to ensure that the OGL is for the content creator, the homebrewer, the aspiring designer, our players, and the community—not major corporations to use for their own commercial and promotional purpose."
This shows a complete lack of understanding of the RPG ecosystem; D&D didn't become the juggernaut it is despite the other companies adding to it, it became that way because of the third party creators! Yes, even the other companies who quite often put out work better than the official stuff.
"Driving these goals were two simple principles: (1) Our job is to be good stewards of the game, and (2) the OGL exists for the benefit of the fans. Nothing about those principles has wavered for a second."
Well, we know that isn't true; WotC/Hasbro executives hate us and see us as an obstacle to them getting money. This of course is completely stupid; the playerbase IS the revenue stream. I find it completely baffling that companies seem to keep circling around to the idea that the customers are somehow the enemy.
"That was why our early drafts of the new OGL..."
As has been pointed out many, many times already it wasn't a draft; this is a blatant lie. You don't send drafts out with contracts, and you don't seek feedback with a narrow timeframe to have said contract signed.
"What it will not contain is any royalty structure. It also will not include the license back provision that some people were afraid was a means for us to steal work. That thought never crossed our minds. Under any new OGL, you will own the content you create. We won’t."
Oh, what a bunch of B.S! "You see? We had a clause saying it was yours! We weren't trying to steal from you! And we'll make sure to say that in the next one as well!" Right, and there was another clause that gave the company a worldwide, irrevocable right to use other people's work or sub-license it out without having to pay anything to the original creator.
I could tear apart the whole thing line-by-line, but so many people have already done so. Their intention was VERY clear and was in no way some misunderstanding on our part; they wanted total control over this section of the hobby and wanted to heavily profit from other people's work. They also wanted to drive out as much competition as possible using an updated OGL that was on VERY shaky legal ground to start with, hence the secrecy and rushed timeline of the original contract to try and bully people into agreeing with it. "If you don't sign this more contract now, you won't get these more generous terms and will be forced to operate under the attached, updated OGL!"
Congratulations to Hasbro and WotC! They created the very thing they feared, a competitor to their upcoming D&D 6E, because that's what they really feared: another company coming along and becoming a new Paizo, and outselling them. Only now it's not just one company, but so very many of the big names in the third party publisher sphere, and they have banded together in order to create their own OGL that will be useable by anyone, and irrevocable as well so that this doesn't happen again. So kudos, I guess; you found something that everyone in this hobby could agree upon and brought them all together. I feel sorry for the rank and file employees at WotC who had this mess dumped on them (with little to no warning, it appears).
All of this saddens me.
I only found a love for TTRPG in April 2022 as a 34 year old when I played my first game of D&D.
It's been amazing up until now, but the initial attempt, then the silence while everything was burning down around them, and then the pitiful response...
Subscription Cancelled.
I'm told Pathfinder is decent... I guess I'll have to look into that.
Im DONE with WotC and their "apology" doesnt change that. They have to think we are young children if they ever assumed we could fall for this bs. Its so transparently manipulative.
"Im sorry you got mad at us" instead of "Sorry we did a greedy company thing", pretending it was sent out for feedback when it was leaked, the very obvious not backbedaling from changing the OGL. They try to pacify the masses, then push for a new "OGL" weakening the old one in a few months. I saw someone speculate they hope for an influx of new players after the movie, which doesnt seem too far fetched - newcomers wouldnt necessarily know about the OGL at all.
And their "uwu NFTS Web3" argument is LAUGHABLE! The NFT bubble bust a while ago and AFTER THAT Crypto crashed thanks to SBF. NFTs are worthless.
Additionally while the "both won" paragraph seems like ego at first glance, and, if this were the response of a single person, might believe it I think the actual reason behind it is more manipulation. It tries to plant the idea of "You won (and we pretend like we won). We didnt win though, we just got them to stall.
I will continue playing DnD 5e... with the primary books I bought years ago and any third party content I like. Hasbro/WotC wont get my money until the OGL is locked as irrevocable, perpetual, any lawyer speak for "untouchable even in a million years" or WotC/Hasbro sign ORC. And even then I will think long and hard if I want to support a company that so obviously tried to play us for fools. I did support Paizo however so congrats WotC, in trying to hurt your competitor you directly caused me to buy Pathfinder 2e :-D
Obviously my DDB sub stays cancelled
Emperor Palpatine has sparked the rebellion.
Remember, these people think of us as nothing more than an "obstacle" to "their" money.
Nothing they say can ever be trusted again.
They are liars who got caught in their lies and now they have created the very competition they were hoping to crush.
Can't wait for the inevitable stock dip.
I get the rage over the ogl 1.1 I canceled my sub myself.
But....
If we rage over a bad decision wanting change and they take that feedback and make changes (and that ends up reflected in the next OGL) and we respond with "no you F'd up I'm gone anyway" then we lose the leverage we have to get changes to happen.
We have high standards for Dnd as a community and they fell short of that no doubt. If that community walks away then next time there is no one to stand up and say "don't do this". Without that then WOTC becomes truly another cog in the corporate money machine and generally speaking multi million dollar company's do not backpedal and make these changes.
I'm not saying they stuck the landing here. They didn't. I'm saying the only thing that separates them from being the greedy money hog we all accused them of being is us. So maybe we don't make the same mistake they did and throw the baby out with the bathwater?
No we don’t make concessions till they adopt ORC and fire the people behind it, namely the CEO and current board. Anything less than that and it doesn’t matter. And aside the point this isn’t the first time they pulled something scummy. It’s harsh because they took things too far. Now we are taking our business and creative idea’s elsewhere.
They have no intention of fixing this, they have called us "obstacles to their success", and they feel the need to "Win" over their customers.
I have already cancelled my sub. Nothing short of:
1. CEO Removal/ Executive restructuring of WoTC.
2. OGL Is Irrevocable AND Perpetual.
3. WoTC signs on to the ORC licence set forward by Paizo and the other Creators.
There is very little reason for any of us to support this company any further, they have no respect for you.
I feel bad for the people who actually work on D&D, who are caught in a difficult, nay impossible situation. Kudos to those who have had the courage to risk their livelihoods to inform the community of Hasbro's malfeasance.
[CENTER][URL=http://www.nodiatis.com/personality.htm][IMG]http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/7.jpg[/IMG][/URL][/CENTER]
The update they gave is just a gaslighting response and full of lies. The corporate greed from the mobile game execs has come to light. My subscription is canceled, and my PF book is on it's way.
I feel like I'm being taken for a chump. There's no way this was just a test run of the terminology. It sounds like it was already being considered for enforcement on kickstarter. Whats with this all "We all won" nonsense. Wizards tries to grift everyone out of their money and gets caught and we're all winning?
I feel worse having read the update than I ever did before.
"You canceled your subscription on 01/14/2023."
(1) Our job is to be good stewards of the game: Wrong. We are the stewards of the game. You print books.
(2) the OGL exists for the benefit of the fans: Wrong. The OGL exists to benefit Wizards. 3rd party Creators have made your game what it is today.
Pretty much this. This isn't like they accidentally published something insensitive or were trying to do a good deed but messed up. They knowingly and intentionally created a legal document with all this terrible stuff in it, tried to hide it from the public, then when it got leaked tried to backpedal on it and act like it was a simple misunderstanding. Like they're about to release a video with their CEO on a bed with puppies going 'We're Sorry' and think that will be enough. Using D&D terms, this isn't 'I made an attack roll and rolled a nat 1' type of 'I rolled a nat 1'. This is a character deciding to insult the dragon's mother while flashing stolen dragon treasure in front of them and making offensive gestures because you were planning to make an acrobatic dive off the mountain into an ocean to escape, while being a warrior who dumped DEX and is wearing full plate, and getting a nat 1. It's honestly probably for the best that this is being discovered NOW because they at least have a chance to revise it and save some face. If companies had agreed to it and THEN we found out, it would likely be far worse.
I'm not defending the ogl or the response here. All I'm saying is in this case it appears our pulling away our investments in the game in part caused the change. If we still give up those investments then we lose that leverage in the future.
The things you are asking for are not practical option for the company
A)fire the ceo. This is the most likely of the request. And it's not going to happen. Only the board of directors can fire a CEO. In this case that would be hasbros board. These arent people who have a love and investment in D&D. They are a corporate board. Stocks have not really been impacted. CEO will not likely be removed.
B)Fire the board. I do not believe wizards has a board so I assume you mean the Hasbro board of directors. Only the shareholders can do this. Not going to happen.
C)adopt orc. I assume you are suggesting that wizards does what the attempt with orc is and takes the current ogl and places into the hands of a nonprofit or such. Not going to happen. On the upside, if it did you would almost definitely see A and B happen.
WOTC failing or losing money does not help anyone at this point. Think of how many people get thier starting off point in ttrpgs with 5e. Like it or not things like a blockbuster movies brings people to the literal game table. Roll20, fantasy grounds, 3rd party creators, other game systems, and thousands of etsy seller and stl patreons depend on getting people to the table.
D&D is synonymous with tabletop gaming right now. That may change in the future and I hope it does, but as it stands if we leave our investment behind we leave our voice with it.
"D&D is synonymous with tapletop gaming right now".
Right now.
This wasn't a little oopsie, or a bad book - though they've certainly had a few of those in the past. This was a naked power grab, and attempt to take control of even more of the TTRPG space than they already had. And now, afterwards, it's blatant lies. This wasn't a "draft", it was issued to companies under NDA to sign, and negotiations were made with Kickstarter. Even if we were to forgive everything in the initial 1.1 (and I'm not), in the most recent update they've lied to us multiple times.
If they release these smarmy non-apologies and we all fall back in line, they'll just do it again in six months - you'll notice there was no mention in the most recent response about removing the "you agree to any future changes we might make" language. Nothing to stop them releasing this OGL v1.1.2.0 and hoping people sign it, then adding in the "we demand royalties". They may even have the data to do so - there was also no mention of the "report your earnings above 50k", just the paying of royalties.
If those two aspects aren't gone, then my assumption is that Hasbro intends to bring back all the rest of it before One is released.
Hasbro has a year or so before that release. They've got that time to repair the damage done to their reputation by their own actions. Everyone else has that time to reorganise the TTRPG space, to release new systems and for players to work out what they want to do. I've cancelled my Beyond subscription, and our next campaign - whether it's an existing system like Savage Worlds or 2d20, a D&D-alike like LevelUp or PF2, or something brand new like MCDM or Kobold's RPGs - will not be run using it.
I'm not saying Wizards won't ever get my money again... but if their plan to do so is to issue a half-baked non-apology peppered with blatant lies, maybe they won't.
What upsets me the most is the designers of the actual game are just as hurt and upset by this as we are. If the leaks are to be believed (and I don't see why they shouldn't be after being vetted from multiple people), the designers had no idea the C suite was pulling any of this. There are people in both DnDBeyond and Wizards of the Coast that are legitimately scared for the future of the game from what's happening above them in the payroll. I was working on a book of weapons to publish, and was about to start looking for an artist when all of this went down. Until the air is clear and the new OGL is available to view, I can't honestly go through with that safely yet. So much for becoming a publisher myself for now, I guess
Another great video that breaks down the most recent statement - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MeWaq6pQQW4
In short - don't fall for it. Cancel your Subscription as that is the best data to show Wizards that people are unhappy with the changes being made. A second 'update' to the OGL means they will get a second attempt at trying to screw people over.
There is nothing wrong with the original OGL. That needs to stay.
#Open D&D
Have the Physical Books? Confused as to why you're not allowed to redeem them for free on D&D Beyond? Questions answered here at the Hardcover Books, D&D Beyond and You FAQ
Looking to add mouse-over triggered tooltips to such things like magic items, monsters or combat actions? Then dash over to the How to Add Tooltips thread.
I'm remaining unsubbed until I am fully satisfied that WotC has committed to a reasonable OGL and THIS TIME that it is irrevocable.
This OSD 2.0 MUST be irrevocable, not include provisions where they have an arbitrary power to withdraw the OGL over some nebulous and subjective definition of "offensive", it must be perpetual, and it must not demand payments or claim ownership of third party materials. Ideally, the license should be held by a third party with no dog in the RPG hunt. Basically they should join the ORC license.
Interesting statement from them, I haven't been that blatantly lied to and gaslit since my Induction Training for the Army......
The DNDBeyond staff have been very reasonable, not locking down discussion threads about the new OGL.
The response posted by WOTC and signed "by DND Beyond Staff" is a very different matter.
There are a LOT of really great games out there, in such a multitude of genres that you can pretty much find exactly what you want. Even if you can't find an exact match, there are many systems that can create what you want, along with many website and YouTube videos to help. Having played since 1976, I can assure you that while the systems used can contribute to the fun, its the telling of great stories with friends that truly makes roleplaying special. Also, there's no reason in the world that you can't continue using what you have already paid for while not giving them any more money. You can continue using what you have, having fun with your friends, and either continue doing so or use that time to shop around for and learn a different system.
There was no reason you couldn't have dropped a new clause into the existing documents, as other companies have done. Additionally 1.0 and 1.0a already had the ability to selectively revoke the OGL for a specific company/individual if they produced work that was hateful/discriminatory.
Total lie. Hasbro isn't worried about NFTs; Hasbro SELLS NFTs!
This shows a complete lack of understanding of the RPG ecosystem; D&D didn't become the juggernaut it is despite the other companies adding to it, it became that way because of the third party creators! Yes, even the other companies who quite often put out work better than the official stuff.
Well, we know that isn't true; WotC/Hasbro executives hate us and see us as an obstacle to them getting money. This of course is completely stupid; the playerbase IS the revenue stream. I find it completely baffling that companies seem to keep circling around to the idea that the customers are somehow the enemy.
As has been pointed out many, many times already it wasn't a draft; this is a blatant lie. You don't send drafts out with contracts, and you don't seek feedback with a narrow timeframe to have said contract signed.
Oh, what a bunch of B.S! "You see? We had a clause saying it was yours! We weren't trying to steal from you! And we'll make sure to say that in the next one as well!" Right, and there was another clause that gave the company a worldwide, irrevocable right to use other people's work or sub-license it out without having to pay anything to the original creator.
I could tear apart the whole thing line-by-line, but so many people have already done so. Their intention was VERY clear and was in no way some misunderstanding on our part; they wanted total control over this section of the hobby and wanted to heavily profit from other people's work. They also wanted to drive out as much competition as possible using an updated OGL that was on VERY shaky legal ground to start with, hence the secrecy and rushed timeline of the original contract to try and bully people into agreeing with it. "If you don't sign this more contract now, you won't get these more generous terms and will be forced to operate under the attached, updated OGL!"
Congratulations to Hasbro and WotC! They created the very thing they feared, a competitor to their upcoming D&D 6E, because that's what they really feared: another company coming along and becoming a new Paizo, and outselling them. Only now it's not just one company, but so very many of the big names in the third party publisher sphere, and they have banded together in order to create their own OGL that will be useable by anyone, and irrevocable as well so that this doesn't happen again. So kudos, I guess; you found something that everyone in this hobby could agree upon and brought them all together. I feel sorry for the rank and file employees at WotC who had this mess dumped on them (with little to no warning, it appears).
Actions speak louder than words. Wotc words mean nothing at this point.