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Tabletop RPG publisher Paizo Inc. has officially terminated its long-standing partnership with the Archives of Nethys, the popular free online database that hosts the vast majority of rules for both Pathfinder and Starfinder.

Effective July 24, 2026, the formal relationship between the two organizations will end, marking a massive strategic and logistical shift for the Pathfinder and Starfinder communities. While the Archives of Nethys website will remain online under Paizo’s current standard community policies, it will lose key privileges, including early access to Paizo materials and official art assets.

Below, we break down what this means for Pathfinder and Starfinder fans and why the partnership is coming to an end.

What is the Archives of Nethys?

The Archives of Nethys (also abbreviated “AoN”) is a volunteer-run digital repository that serves as the official primary rules reference for Paizo’s Pathfinder and Starfinder tabletop RPGs. Founded in 2012 by artist Blake Davis and named after Nethys (the Pathfinder god of magic), the website has grown considerably over the past decade, operating as a pseudo-wiki that hosts almost every core rule, character option, adventure and monster – all available entirely for free. This model has allowed both Pathfinder and Starfinder rules to be remarkably accessible in a way that other TTRPG like D&D simply aren’t.

In 2018, Paizo established a licensing agreement with the Archives of Nethys team, providing early access to upcoming book PDFs well ahead of their official release dates. This arrangement ensured the volunteers could accurately upload new rules and content to the website before new product launches. Additionally, Paizo provided official art assets, including images that were otherwise not available for use by the general public. In exchange, the Archives would drive fan interest and clicks to Paizo products and AoN would pay licensing fees if they achieved certain revenue targets (driven primarily through online ads).

Why is Paizo Ending Their Partnership with the Archives of Nethys?

According to public statements from both parties, the separation stems from a combination of financial pressures, lack of royalty generation and legal complications. The Archives of Nethys team released a statement noting that under the licensing arrangement they were required to pay Paizo royalties only if the site generated enough profit in a given month. The team claims that they prioritized user accessibility over aggressive monetization and as such the website did not generate enough profit to yield any royalties for Paizo.

Paizo, however, has released its own statement, stating that the legal and administrative costs required to maintain the AoN license were becoming a financial burden. They also noted that the inclusion of official Paizo artwork on the Archives of Nethys created ongoing confusion about what assets were allowed under the standard Community Use Policy. Other web creators routinely scraped the artwork from the Archives for unauthorized projects, forcing Paizo’s legal teams to waste time and money drafting DMCA and cease-and-desist notices to protect their intellectual property. Paizo also added that they did offer a marketing agreement to soften the blow, but claims the AoN team chose to publish their notice before those discussions could conclude.

Notably, Paizo is currently reeling from an incredibly brutal financial period. The publisher has upwards of $10 million worth of physical inventory trapped in a warehouse due to a massive legal knot involving the bankruptcy of distributor Diamond Comic Distributors. The financial fallout of this crisis has triggered severe restructuring, forcing Paizo to cut back on its organized play program and announce layoffs in early June of 2026.

Final Thoughts

It is the end of an era for Pathfinder and Starfinder’s uniquely open ecosystem, but it is not the complete end for the Archives of Nethys. Because Paizo still allows rules to be shared freely under its community use policy, much of the process will remain the same. At the same time, losing official artwork and early access to content means the site will look much different, and players looking for day-one digital rules integration may now have to turn to paid alternatives like Demiplane. It’s a tough pill to swallow for the fan community, but one born out of the growing financial pressures that Paizo is now facing.

We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story in the days ahead and will update this page with new information as it becomes available.