Archives of Nethys

Hi everyone - we have agreed on a joint statement with Paizo about our path moving forward. You can read it below. If you are unfamiliar with what's going on or would like the past context, please read our original statement.

Paizo & Archives of Nethys—Moving Forward Together

Last week, both Paizo and the Archives of Nethys released statements concerning the end of our commercial license agreement. These statements were met with an outpouring of community confusion, concern, and displeasure; that sentiment has been heard on all sides.

Over the past several days, we have continued conversations regarding the relationship between Paizo and the Archives of Nethys. Together, we’ve reached a solution that meets the needs of both teams and preserves the stability of this essential community resource.

There will be changes to the Archives of Nethys moving forward, but these changes will not fundamentally disrupt the functionality of the Archives of Nethys:

The Archives of Nethys will remain an official rules archive for Pathfinder and Starfinder.
Paizo’s new agreement with the Archives of Nethys is much less formal than a commercial license, which reduces oversight and work on Paizo’s side and eliminates the need for the Archives of Nethys to report royalties.
Paizo and the Archives of Nethys have agreed that any art not included in the Community Use Policy license will be removed from the Archives of Nethys’ webpages by the end of today, July 24.

Paizo plans to release more art into the Community Use Policy (CUP) soon, thus also expanding the Archives of Nethys’ art resources, as well as those of other CUP creators.

The Archives of Nethys will continue to receive PDFs in advance of street date, on the same schedule as Paizo employees and freelance contributors. This is not as early as the full printer files the Archives of Nethys used to receive, but the Archives of Nethys team is optimistic they can continue releasing new content with minimal delays.
The Archives of Nethys will continue to host the original Pathfinder First Edition PRD (legacy.aonprd.com) for Paizo.
Lore and flavor text changes on the Archives of Nethys that are required under the Community Use Policy are expected to be minimal, if any are required at all.

“The Archives of Nethys is a vital resource for the Paizo community, and we are ready to support the volunteer team through these changes,” said Jim Butler, Paizo’s CEO. “Open access to our games has always been a core tenet of Paizo and will remain so. We value the dedication of the Archives of Nethys volunteer team and are committed to supporting their work.”

“Thank you to the community for your amazing enthusiasm and support during this adjustment,” said Blake Davis, owner of the Archives of Nethys. “We hope that this agreement will allow the Archives of Nethys to continue supporting the Pathfinder and Starfinder communities for years to come."

Both Paizo and the Archives of Nethys are committed to maintaining this community resource and adjusting to ensure Pathfinder and Starfinder’s rulesets remain free and easy to access.

Game on!

-Jim Butler, CEO, Paizo Inc.
-Blake Davis, Owner, the Archives of Nethys
2026-07-24