Editing Open Game License (section)

===4th Edition===
In June 2008, Wizards of the Coast transitioned to a new, more restrictive royalty-free license called the [[Game System License]] (GSL),<ref name="4e SRD">{{Cite web |url=https://www.wizards.com/d20/files/4E_SRD.pdf |title=Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition System Reference Document |date=2009-02-27 |publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]] |access-date=2023-02-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160429065212/https://www.wizards.com/d20/files/4E_SRD.pdf |archive-date=2016-04-29 |url-status=unfit}}</ref> which is available for third-party developers to publish products compatible with ''Dungeons & Dragons'' 4th edition.<ref name="escapist">{{cite web |last=Tito |first=Greg |date=28 December 2011 |title=The State of D&D: Present |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/9293-The-State-of-D-D-Present.2 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120129004417/https://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/9293-The-State-of-D-D-Present.2 |archive-date=January 29, 2012 |access-date=1 October 2013 |work=The Escapist}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=November 13, 2007|title=No '4th Edition d20 STL'|url=https://icv2.com/articles/games/view/11618/no-4th-edition-d20-stl|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107071316/http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/11618.html|archive-date=January 7, 2010|access-date=2021-09-17|website=icv2.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=D&D 4th Edition Game System License|url=http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4news/20080417a|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080428162858/http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4news/20080417a|archive-date=April 28, 2008|access-date=2008-07-15|website=|publisher=[[Wizards of the Coast]]}}</ref> The GSL is incompatible with the previous OGL. However, by its own terms the OGL is perpetual, and remained in widespread use.<ref name=escapist /><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Charlie |date=2016-08-01 |title=The story of Pathfinder, Dungeons & Dragon's most popular offspring |url=https://www.polygon.com/2016/8/1/12317888/the-story-of-pathfinder-dungeons-and-dragons-most-popular-offspring |access-date=2020-11-21 |website=Polygon |language=en |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108122506/http://www.polygon.com/2016/8/1/12317888/the-story-of-pathfinder-dungeons-and-dragons-most-popular-offspring |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2001-04-29 |title=d20 - The Open Game License: Frequently Asked Questions - Version 1.0 - February 9, 2001 |url=http://www.wizards.com/D20/article.asp?x=dt20010417g |access-date=2023-01-30 |archive-date=April 29, 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010429024325/http://www.wizards.com/D20/article.asp?x=dt20010417g |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>
Greg Tito, for ''[[The Escapist (magazine)|The Escapist]]'' in 2011, commented that the GSL "released in conjunction with 4th edition took away many of the freedoms that the industry had come to expect with the ''D&D'' rules, such as reprinting text for clarity in new products".<ref name="escapist" /> [[Andy Collins (game designer)|Andy Collins]], a ''Dungeons & Dragons'' designer who became the "Design & Development Manager around the release of 4th edition", stated that:<blockquote>I remember arguing pretty hard to retain something like what Wizards had done for 3rd edition; an open license that included the core rules and a few basic guidelines on how to use it. I argued that without some kind of OGL, Wizards risked leaving behind the body of customers and potential customers who saw the open license as an assumed part of the D&D. [...] In hindsight, I wonder if it might simply have been better to [let the OGL die] rather than guilting the company into crafting a Frankenstein's monster of an open license that ended up pleasing basically nobody.<ref name="escapist" /></blockquote>