[GameSpot] - D&D Game At Hidden Path Seemingly Not Canceled In Bizarre Mix-Up

[343iBot]

Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Dungeons & Dragons brand-owner Wizards of the Coast had canceled at least five video game projects as part of a move away from digital gaming. However, in a strange twist, one of the studios specifically named in the report has publicly announced that its game is not canceled, stating that it wants to "set the record straight."

Hey everyone, just wanted to set the record straight:
Our epic D&D project with Wizards is still happening! In fact, we're currently hiring and looking for talented people to join our team. Check out our jobs page at https://t.co/mXo7I9BPY1

— Hidden Path Ent (@HiddenPathEnt) January 5, 2023

What makes this situation so unusual is that Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier is standing by his reporting, tweeting multiple times that a Wizards of the Coast spokesman (in addition to an unnamed source) confirmed that the project is canned. As such, this would seem to be a tragic miscommunication of some sort, but it's unclear where exactly the disconnect is.

We don't know much about Hidden Path's D&D project, other than it's a "AAA open-world, third-person, single-player RPG," per the studio's hiring page. The developer is perhaps best-known for its Defense Grid series, though it's also made a few VR games in recent years, including Witchblood and Brass Tactics.

While this mix-up is strange, it's not the only controversy that Wizards of the Coast is currently facing. The brand recently announced its intention to release a new version of the Open Game License, a legal agreement that undergirds the independent tabletop gaming industry. A draft version of the new OGL was allegedly obtained by outlet io9 this week, and according to its reporting, it will "de-authorize" the use of the original OGL, which was more permissive than the new version. This will likely set up a lengthy legal battle between Wizards and companies like Paizo, the publisher of the Pathfinder games, which rely on the OGL for key revenue sources.

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