Paizo – Pathfinder is ending its relationship with Archives of Nethys [updated]

Archives of Nethys is likely one of the most beloved and broadly used assets within the Pathfinder and Starfinder communities. It has helped gamers study our video games, discover new concepts, construct characters, and share their pleasure with pals around the globe. We’re deeply grateful for every part Archives of Nethys has finished.

The dedication, care, and keenness that AoN has delivered to its work has made it a pillar of the Pathfinder and Starfinder ecosystems. Their efforts have supported numerous tables, impressed new gamers, and strengthened the connection individuals really feel to our worlds.

We wish to be clear about why our industrial licensing contract with Archives of Nethys has come to an finish. We additionally wish to emphasize that Archives of Nethys will proceed providing the identical guidelines entry because it does in the present day beneath the Group Use Coverage.

Eight years in the past, we entered right into a licensing relationship with AoN. The thought was easy: Archives of Nethys would obtain early entry to Paizo merchandise and unique entry to paintings that wasn’t obtainable beneath the Group Use Coverage, and in return, Paizo would obtain royalties generated by that expanded use to cowl the prices of this particular relationship. It’s true that these royalties by no means materialized, however that wasn’t the only cause we determined to finish the license.

Licenses take assets to handle—attorneys to assessment and observe up on contracts, finance staff to assessment and enter royalty statements, and licensing employees to supply property and different assist. These assets have to be balanced towards different enterprise calls for.

The usage of Paizo paintings on the net additionally created ongoing confusion about what property are allowed beneath the Group Use Coverage. Archives positioned a authorized discover explaining that that they had a license to make use of paintings and different parts, however different websites routinely copied these property and used them for themselves. That created extra work for our authorized and licensing groups to draft DMCA and stop‑and‑desist notices.

Our paintings, maps, worlds, and tales are core elements of Paizo’s identification and livelihood. We give away the foundations at no cost beneath the ORC license (and can proceed to take action), and we wish to be sure that our insurance policies stay clear, constant, and honest for everybody who creates neighborhood content material.

Ending this exception permits us to simplify our insurance policies and shield the readability of our IP, whereas giving Archives of Nethys the liberty to proceed working beneath the Group Use Coverage. There are a selection of very profitable initiatives that proceed to thrive supporting Pathfinder and Starfinder utilizing the ORC license and the Group Use Coverage, and we’re assured that Archives of Nethys can proceed beneath that umbrella for a few years to return.

After we first broke the information to Archives of Nethys that we had been going to finish the license, we supplied a advertising and marketing settlement to make the change much less impactful, however these conversations weren’t concluded earlier than they selected to publish their discover. We stay open to discussions with Archives about methods to assist the positioning in a way that’s much less useful resource‑intensive and extra protecting of Paizo IP going ahead.