Critical Role has issued an ambiguous response to the recent D&D OGL 1.1 controversy, via their company Twitter account (see below).
In the recent Tweet, Critical Role stated that they will stand behind both their industry peers as well as creators that are making a new RPG system and original ideas. They also briefly referred to their formation of Darrington Press (see “Critical Role Ventures into Tabletop Publishing “), although not by name, as a way they have broadened the field of creators to help the games industry. This statement was made after Critical Role, which has a massive fan base in the TTRPG community, came under pressure to either issue a response or be at risk to take collateral damage from their fans still enraged over Wizards of the Coast’s handling of the D&D OGL 1.1 leaks (see “OGL 1.1 Furor“, and also, “Backs Down on OGL (in Part)“).
The statement, itself, read as though it featured some level of legal craftsmanship, and with good reason. Critical Role likely needed to walk a fine line between not criticizing one of their biggest sponsors (WotC/D&D Beyond) while, at the same time, quelling their fan base’s simmering outrage. Their company was clearly stuck between a proverbial “rock and a hard place,” as backing one party over any of the others in this conflict could potentially be a detrimental financial decision for them.
Source: ICv2
