Calm down! Here’s the story…

Apparently, though Wizards of the Coast purchased TSR (the publishers of Dungeons & Dragons) in 1997, the last trademark of “TSR” as a game company lapsed in 2003.

Then in May of 2011, one Jayson Elliot incorporated Hexagonist Publishing LLC and in November 2011 Hexagonist registered a new trademark for “TSR” for

Publishing of paper and electronic books, namely, game manuals, rule books, magazines and newsletters related to games and gaming.

Jayson Elliot, who you may not be familiar with—neither was I—describes himself as a “User Experience Director”. Among his many past projects were building mobile and desktop applications for Wizards of the Coast (my guess is he won’t be doing that any more).

But Jayson Elliot isn’t taking up the mantle of TSR by himself. According to a message relayed through EN World, his partners on the project include Ernie Gygax, Luke Gygax, Tim Kask, James Carpio, and Jim Wampler.

So what are they doing?

We decided the best thing to release first as TSR was a gaming magazine, because we wanted a way to bridge the traditions of the old guard with the awesome new games that are out today.

And they’re calling that magazine, “Gygax Magazine“. What it will include, we don’t know. All we know is that they intend to launch it in December 2012.

The bottom line, then, is that despite whatever feelings of nostalgia the names involved might trigger, what you’ve got is an entirely new company launching a completely new product. I look forward to seeing what they produce, but no one’s undoing the last 20 years.

Update: In another message relayed through EN World, Gary Gygax’s widow, Gail, states that this project is not supported by the Gary Gygax estate.