As MTG grows and adapts to suit its growing audience, the brand has experienced significant changes recently. In recent years, for instance, we’ve seen the rise of new formats and products such as Alchemy and Universes Beyond. Additionally, Wizards has been printing more MTG products than ever before in order to tap into the growing player base. This has caused immense controversy throughout the past year. However, recently it’s not MTG that’s getting Wizards into trouble. Instead, thanks to proposed changes to the open Game Licence (OGL), Wizards is facing controversy from Dungeons & Dragons players. While not extensively affecting the MTG brand, a new statement from a whistleblower has revealed worrying prospects for MTG’s future.
In case you missed our story a few days ago detailing the D&D debacle, here’s a quick rundown to get you up to speed. Since 2002 Dungeons & Dragons have had an Open Gaming Licence, allowing fans and creators to freely license the brand. This allowed players and companies to produce high-quality supplemental stories, miniatures, and products, dramatically accelerating the brand’s growth. A recently leaked document for an “OGL 1.1”, however, threatens to upend that longstanding agreement, forcing royalties upon creators. Alongside this, OGL 1.1 gives Wizards a “nonexclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, sub-licensable, royalty-free license” to use player and creator-made content freely. As you might...
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