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It seems that the torchlight of the old-school renaissance will continue to burn bright in the coming year. Publisher Necrotic Gnome has recently announced they’ll be releasing a major revision to the Old-School Essentials fantasy TTRPG. Dubbed the 2026 OSE Update, it represents a significant mechanical and visual refresh for one of the most popular retro-inspired fantasy tabletop RPGs of the past decade.
The update will also be part of a larger celebration as OSE ushers in its seventh anniversary in 2026, marking a major milestone moment for both the game and the old-school renaissance as a whole. Below, we take a closer look at what to expect.
What Is Old-School Essentials (OSE)?
Old-School Essentials (often abbreviated simply to OSE) is a fantasy tabletop roleplaying game based on the original Dungeons & Dragons rules from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Created by designer Gavin Norman (who also founded publisher Necrotic Gnome), OSE is designed to capture the feel of early tabletop gaming without the confusion and usability issues often found in rulebooks from that era. In particular, rules in OSE are designed around “control panels,” presenting each topic on two side-by-side pages for easy reference.
Since its release in 2019, OSE has become one of the cornerstones of the Old-School Renaissance (OSR) movement, with the game releasing core rule books along with adventures, zines, supplements and accessories. Currently, there are two OSE formats: Old-School Essentials Classic Fantasy (which is essentially a clone of the 1980s D&D Basic/Expert rules) and Old-School Essentials Advanced Fantasy (which is inspired by the rules of AD&D first edition). Notably, both systems are also fully compatible with pre-existing supplements and modules from the early days of D&D.
What’s Changing in the 2026 OSE Update?
The OSE 2026 Update is designed to consolidate the Classic Fantasy and Advanced Fantasy editions of the game into two definitive hardcover volumes: The OSE Player’s Book and The OSE Referee’s Book. Each book will be around 250-pages in length and serve as the foundation for the system moving forward. The updated books will include:
- Over 200 new illustrations, including color paintings by Jacob Fleming and updated art by Peter Mullen (who is also doing the cover art for the new books).
- Expanded gameplay examples, including fully detailed sample dungeons, towns and wilderness regions.
- A revised glossary and index, designed to make it easier for players to find key rules.
- Basic Play Appendices, highlighting which rules are derived from B/X D&D and which are from AD&D 1e.
- New optional rules, such as training costs, XP for magic items and higher Hit Die creatures.
- Minor class tweaks for the Assassin, Barbarian, Knight and Ranger (all of which based on OSE player feedback).
- Rules corrections, including adjusted backstab modifiers, sea encounter rates and travel bonuses for roads and trails.
Despite these updates, the OSE 2026 Update will remain 100% compatible with all previously published Old-School Essentials materials. Necrotic Gnome has also said they’ll be releasing a free PDF which summarizes all of the rules changes and updates to materials, so players can reference these in their existing OSE books.
One of the most important behind-the-scenes changes, however, is that the 2026 Update will be fully OGL-free. This legal change comes out of the controversy surrounding Wizards of the Coast’s attempt to revoke the Open Game License in 2023. Necrotic Gnome has said that they have completely re-edited the text to ensure Old-School Essentials can exist independently of the OGL, which in theory should protect it from future licensing disputes from D&D and Wizards of the Coast.
When Will the 2026 OSE Update Be Released?
Necrotic Gnome has not yet announced a firm release date for the OSE Update, but both core books are planned for release sometime in mid to late 2026. Additional new products are also in development, including:
- Dungeons of the Undermoon Starter Set, featuring a full adventure, base town and regional sandbox.
- Demonic Grimoire, a 176-page supplement focused on infernal monsters, spells and lore.
- New issues of Carcass Crawler, the official OSE zine, which will feature new classes, rules option and adventures.
Final Thoughts
After seven years of steady growth, Old-School Essentials remains an important system for the OSR. Yet, its growth has also resulted in fragmentation and a complex ecosystem of books that can be a bit intimidating for new players. With the 2026 OSE Update, Necrotic Gnome is looking to address some of those issues, while also improving usability, adding new art and cutting legal ties with Wizards of the Coast and OGL. It remains to be seen, however, just how this is embraced by the community.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on the OSE update in the year ahead and will update this page with new information as it’s available.