Pathfinder achieved a massive sale increase following the Wizards of the Coast (WotC) Dungeons & Dragons OGL controversy.
Pathfinder developer Paizo posted the news to its Twitter account, apologizing to fans waiting to receive their orders. "We were inundated with many weeks' worth of orders. We have brought in additional hands to help with shipping, and are working overtime to send you your new print products as quickly as possible. We apologize for longer than normal ship times as we work through the queue," the company stated after thanking the players for supporting them.
The company continued, stating, "Additionally, we have run through what was an 8-month supply of our Pathfinder Core Rulebook in the last 2 weeks, and demand on our Beginner Boxes is surging too. We have already ordered another print run of the hardcover Core Rulebook, which will arrive in mid-April."
DnD Players Jump Ship to Pathfinder and Other TTRPGs
News of this comes weeks after DnD players began a max exodus from the TTRPG system over the WotC controversy with Dungeons & Dragons OGL updates. Shortly after WotC's updated OGL leaked, revealing plans to take away substantial rights from third-party creators and imposing massive royalties on related businesses, DnD players declared they'd switch to new TTRPG systems, with Pathfinder one of the most commonly cited.
Pathfinder's ORC Alliance and New OGL
Not long after WotC's updated DnD OGL leaked, Paizo announced its own OGL in conjunction with multiple third-party creators. The Open RPG Creative License (ORC) is a "system neutral open RPG license" with collaborators including Kobold Press, Chaosium, Green Ronin, Legendary Games and Rogue Genius Games. This system would remain accessible for all content makers creating products under it and remove control from Pazio or any other major companies, though the Pathfinder developer said it would foot the bill for the legal costs of creating it.
Pazio recently revealed over 1,500 third-party creators have signed on to the ORC Alliance. Notable new partners include Roll 20 and Foundry, companies that make virtual tabletops for DnD players to host campaigns online. Attorney Brian Lewis, co-founder of Azora Law and the writer of DnD's original OGL, is attached to write the new ORC Alliance document.
Source: Twitter