Get Your Game On is back for another week of news in the gaming world, which knows no schedule or bounds! I personally have been taking a generous break from playing games at all lately… but it’s not like it’s any safer from the outside looking in.
Backlash Against Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast’s Open Gaming License Continues
The past couple of weeks have been hell for Hasbro PR and the Dungeons & Dragons brand. As discussed last week, io9 reporter Linda Codega provided insight on a draft of the Open Gaming License (OGL) 1.1, and the tabletop gaming community sure was not happy with its implications.
As a result, numerous publishers and various creators swiftly rallied around the concept of “Open DnD,” a clear jab against the name of Wizards of the Coast’s upcoming One D&D.
Paizo, publisher of Pathfinder, announced their own system-neutral open RPG license. Free League Publishing announced that they are developing two new open gaming licenses. Kobold Press announced code name “Project Black Flag,” a new core fantasy ruleset, and they generated such high interest that their website keeps crashing. Vincent and Meguey Baker are also developing a new SRD for Apocalypse World.
Popular online live play series Critical Role sounded off with their own vague (and not legally-binding) statement on their official social media accounts.
From all of us at Critical Role. pic.twitter.com/PDi9tDF4dc
— Critical Role (@CriticalRole) January 13, 2023
An official statement from Wizards of the Coast has been published on D&D Beyond, and any changes to or an official release of a new draft of the new OGL remains in the air. Many players have canceled their D&D Beyond subscriptions as part of the call for #OpenDND and a leaked Wizards company email suggests it had an effect.
In other news…
As the Stadia nears the end of its life, Google is rolling out a feature to ensure that Stadia controllers will have Bluetooth compatibility.
Ubisoft is delaying Skull and Bones yet again. While delaying games and even outright canceling others, they are also continuing to insist that a Beyond Good & Evil sequel is still on the roadmap for development.
Valve suffered a huge leak that unveiled tons of previously unreleased game assets. Some of the material includes unused content for Portal and Team Fortress 2.
While full-time Microsoft employees are now able to take unlimited time off, the company could potentially face an antitrust warning over the Activision Blizzard acquisition.
As Blizzard’s relationship with NetEase ends, its Shanghai staff will also unfortunately be let go.
Amazon Games’ distributed free-to-play MMO Lost Ark‘s slew of technical issues with bots has caused actual players to be banned from the game with no resolution in sight.
In more heartwarming news, the the first Games Done Quick event of 2023 has raised more than $2.6 million for the Prevent Cancer Foundation.
Annapurna Interactive’s cyberpunk cat game Stray is also working with various animal rescue organizations to help out some real-life cats!
"Stray," an award-winning video game featuring a stray cat, is helping rescue animals. Online streamers are using their platforms to raise money for felines without a home.@johnyangtv spoke to a number of people who are using a virtual stray to help real-life cats. pic.twitter.com/GDjuSjWi8l
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) January 14, 2023
Elvie somehow finds bliss in purposefully complicating the art of storytelling and undertaking the painful practice of animation. If you see her on Twitter at @lvmaeparian, she is doing neither of those things. She currently helps with managing the socials to ensure that the secret recipe will never be revealed.
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