With all the craziness happening in the world of Dungeons and Dragons right now, we only have one thing to say to the folks at Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast; “Well, well, well — how the turntables…”
The Office references aside, if you didn’t know, allow us to provide a brief update. A new gaming license from D&D parent company Wizards of the Coast (and subsequent owner Hasbro), has generated a slew of restrictions regarding original content, and the ability-adjacent creators have to turn a profit on the property.
In the past, Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, and the people that enjoy their games have all played relatively nice (pun intended.) Now, though, it seems there has been a massive overreach in what was once standard procedure: Where third party creators used to generate wholly original content that stood to make a profit, now their material can be demonetized and flagged due to anti-trust violations. Boo! What the hell, Hasbro? To go after your fandom like that doesn’t seem very fair.
Although the motivations behind why a 20-year standard was suddenly overturned remain unclear, what has become incredibly transparent is the overwhelming fan backlash surrounding the decision.
In an online petition, a class action lawsuit looks to be levied against both Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast in an effort to maintain creator rights. Who’s to say if a legal move like this has the ability to take down two of the largest names in the gaming industry, but if anyone can do it — it’s D&D fans. After all, these people fight dragons in their free time, they can handle a few fire-breathing bigwigs.
