The tabletop industry continues to shift in light of recent events. Various tabletop companies are planning for a future without the foundational OGL 1.0a. Furthermore, one of the industry's biggest players, Paizo Inc., has created the ORC, providing resources and security for future developers to come. Now, several major European developers have announced the creation of the European RPG Studios Union.
The Announcement of the European RPG Studios Union
According to the official press release, The European RPG Studios Union was founded by three key TTRPG studios. The first is Acheron Studios, an Italy-based studio known for Lex Arcana, an alternate historical fantasy TTRPG in a world where the Roman Empire never fell. Second is Studio Agate, an independent French creative studio known for the dark romanticist adventures Shadows of Esteran. Finally, there is German publisher Uhrwerk, whose work includes the epic fantasy RPG Splittermond. The reason they formed this union is to both promote and advocate TTRPGs as a genre of literature and art form before national and European institutions. Second, the union wishes to protect creators, providing them with security and resources.
We believe that role-playing games are one of the most modern and relevant media to create interpersonal bonds. They are a tool to develop soft skills for the players. Their distribution and practice needs to be encouraged, taught, and supported by institutions just as for other artistic media such as movies, music, and video games.
This quote by the European RPG Studios Union holds some merit. Recent strides in AI development happened thanks to the use of tabletop. Furthermore, many non-profit organizations have utilized TTRPGs to help those mentally or emotionally struggling to find community and stability, including Hope for the Warriors and The Bodhana Group.
The first action by the European RPG Studios Union is the full support of the #OpenDnD movement. This fan-led movement has been actively protesting the deauthorization of OGL 1.0a by Wizards of the Coast, and has been advocating for open and accessible RPG tools for both the community and creators.
