D&D 5E Hasbro Acquires D&D Beyond For $146M

D&D owner WotC and D&D Beyond have announced that the online tools platform is being acquired by WotC.

DDB’s (former) owner was Fandom, which acquired it in 2018, and which also acquired the Cortex Prime TTRPG system recently. Fandom is producing a range of licensed games using the Cortex Prime system starting with the recent Tales of Xadia: The Dragon Prince RPG. Several DDB core staff members and founders moved on to other projects last year.

D&D General - Adam Bradford, Lauren Urban, Todd Kenrick Leave D&D Beyond

They join lead writer James Haeck, who left a couple of weeks ago. Adam Bradford is the D&D Beyond co-founder, and VP of Tabletop Gaming at its owner, Fandom. Lauren Urban is DDB's Community Manager. Todd Kenrick is the company's Creative Manager. D&D Beyond, launched in 2017, is currently...

www.enworld.org

This move has been widely expected for some time. The purchase figure being circulated is $146 million. By comparison, when WotC purchased then-D&D owner TSR in 1997, it did so for $25M. Hasbro later purchased WotC for $325M.

D&D Beyond was created in 2017 by Curse LLC, a company owned by Twitch. Fandom purchased Curse in 2018. WotC will be the third owner of the platform.

In other news, back in November WotC applied for a trademark for 'Atomic Arcade' for a variety of electronic gaming applications, and earlier in the year, rumours spread regarding WotC’s plans for its own virtual tabletop platform (VTT) following a survey in which they gauged opinions and allegedly showed off graphically rich 3D screenshots.

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) today announced that it is acquiring D&D Beyond, the leading digital toolset and game companion for the Company’s groundbreaking fantasy franchise, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, from Fandom. Fandom, the world’s largest fan platform, has owned and operated D&D Beyond since 2019 and has grown the direct-to-consumer business to be the leading role-playing game (RPG) digital toolset on the market with close to 10 million registered users. This strategic acquisition, for $146.3 million in cash, will further strengthen Hasbro’s capabilities in the fast-growing digital tabletop category while also adding veteran talents to the Wizards of the Coast team and accelerating efforts to deliver exceptional experiences for fans across all platforms.

Since 2017, D&D Beyond has helped to power DUNGEONS & DRAGONS tabletop play and deliver the brand's eighth consecutive year of growth in 2021. Over the last three years, the royalty paid to Hasbro by D&D Beyond has represented a significant contribution to the fastest growing source of revenue for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. The strategic acquisition of D&D Beyond will deliver a direct relationship with fans, providing valuable, data-driven insights to unlock opportunities for growth in new product development, live services and tools, and regional expansions. As part of Wizards, the brand’s leadership will soon be able to drive a unified, player-centric vision of the world’s greatest role-playing game on all platforms.

“The acquisition of D&D Beyond will accelerate our progress in both gaming and direct to consumer, two priority areas of growth for Hasbro, providing immediate access to a loyal, growing player base,” said Chris Cocks, Hasbro Chief Executive Officer. “Hasbro’s gaming portfolio is among the largest and most profitable in the industry, and we continue to make strategic investments to grow our brands, including in digital.”

“This is the perfect next step for the talented D&D Beyond team, who built a transformative digital product that engaged and delighted millions of D&D fans around the world,” said Perkins Miller, CEO of Fandom. “We can't wait to see what this team will do next as an integral part of the D&D franchise, and I look forward to investing in more brands and products to super serve Fandom’s 300 million+ global fans.”

“D&D Beyond has been one of our most valuable partners in the digital space for the past six years and we’re excited to bring their best-in-class talent onto our team,” said Cynthia Williams, President of Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming. “The team at D&D Beyond has built an incredible digital platform, and together we will deliver the best-possible DUNGEONS & DRAGONS experience for players around the world.”

Hasbro’s continued investment in Wizards of the Coast’s digital growth for its two iconic franchises, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and MAGIC: THE GATHERING, is representative of the significant opportunity in PC and mobile gaming, an industry that represented over 3 billion players globally and $129 billion in revenue in 20211. With the launch of Magic: The Gathering Arena on PC in 2019 and on mobile in 2021, Wizards has built a unique ecosystem of best-in-class tabletop and digital play to create deeper player engagement and satisfaction and grow revenue across all expressions and regions. Similarly, with more than 80% of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS fans having already played the game virtually in 2021, aided by online digital platforms such as D&D Beyond, this acquisition accelerates the game’s ability to penetrate new markets, gather valuable consumer insights and provide players with the best DUNGEONS & DRAGONS experience on all platforms.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and the receipt of certain regulatory approvals, and is expected to close during the second or third quarter of 2022. The transaction will be funded out of cash on hand and is expected to be immaterial to revenue and earnings per share in 2022 and accretive to earnings per share in fiscal year 2023 and beyond. The transaction has been approved by both Hasbro’s and Fandom’s Boards of Directors.

Welcome to the Party, D&D Beyond | Dungeons & Dragons

We are excited to welcome everyone at D&D Beyond, bringing together two teams dedicated to making Dungeons & Dragons easy to run and accessible to all!

dnd.wizards.com

 

[OB1]

Perhaps the digital code only activates when WotC gets a confirmation from a retailer that the book has been purchased, before that the code does nothing.

Or the code isn't in the book at all, but when you buy the book, WotC emails you the code.

I think it's more likely that we'll see a vast de-emphasis on selling print books than any kind of program to make it easier to get both. Basically, the same thing we've seen with the home entertainment market over the last 5 years. Yes people still collect blu-ray's and such (I'm one of them) but the average consumer get's a subscription to Disney+ or HBOMax rather than purchase a physical disc.

 

[Staffan]

Yep. I’d say roll 20’s days are numbered. At least with respect to d&d.

That seems highly unlikely, and would generate lots of badwill. At worst, they will cease to support Roll20 with new releases, but I really don't see them removing already existing stuff.

Well, what does that say about WotC being bought by Hasbro then?

Wizards had an... unusual ownership structure. For one thing, when the company was formed Peter Adkison didn't assign any stock to himself, because he didn't know you could do that. And many of the people who worked at or for Wizards were paid at least partially in stock, so Adkison didn't really own the company himself. Sure, he took a lot of his compensation for his work in stock, but he never had ownership of the company as such.

In the 90s, Wizards were making money hand over fist, but a lot of that money was going back into the company, increasing its value. In particular, they were flush because they had the Pokemon license which made them a butt-ton of money. But since the company wasn't publically traded, that left a lot of those who had early stock without a way to turn that stock into actual money. So essentially, they banded together to tell Adkison that he needed to either buy them out, or find someone to buy the company. And that's why Wizards was sold to Hasbro.

 

[FrogReaver]

... I think I missed your point. This is a consolidation, not a fracture...

Community fracture - business consolidation.

The 2 aren’t mutually exclusive.

 

[LordEntrails]

Very interesting response, much more positive then one would expect.

How else can they respond? Anything but positive threatens their relationship with WotC, which holds the license for Roll20s major source of income.

So perhaps fantasy grounds has more reason to be worried.

Perhaps. Or perhaps since they usually take their time to make well thought out responses and/or may just have more going on in the background that they need to align before responding. I am worried though.

Nobody has yet cracked the puzzle of how to make a physical book that gives access to digital content, where the codes for that can't be easily stolen, so I doubt that'll happen.

Uh no. This has been solved. If I shoplift a $500 Visa gift card, it's not actually useable until I've paid at the cash register and the code on the card has been activated. Now, that doesn't mean WotC currently has the system to do this, but the technology exists to do this securely. Though I will say, a code in a book is a lot more difficult around the logistics (at least because of cashiers not knowing to activate the included card), but it is do-able.

 

[Grendel_Khan]

I think it's more likely that we'll see a vast de-emphasis on selling print books than any kind of program to make it easier to get both. Basically, the same thing we've seen with the home entertainment market over the last 5 years. Yes people still collect blu-ray's and such (I'm one of them) but the average consumer get's a subscription to Disney+ or HBOMax rather than purchase a physical disc.

Couldn't disagree more. General publishing trends are what they are, but print sales still absolutely dwarf digital-only in TTRPGs. I think it's a mistake to lump RPG publishing in with, say, fiction--most people consume a novel like they would a TV series, and then move on, download the next one to their Kindle. They might as well be as disposable as a streamed show. Even a lot of comics consumption is the same. But RPG books are scratching a real collector's itch, plus they're very visual, plus they're often a kind of manual you need to refer to--PDFs are great for searching, but not for general reference.

So just like coffee table art books aren't getting replaced by iPad PDFs, hardcopy RPGs aren't in some sort of death spiral.

 

[FrogReaver]

Nobody has yet cracked the puzzle of how to make a physical book that gives access to digital content, where the codes for that can't be easily stolen, so I doubt that'll happen.

Buy digital book, get physical book discount when ordering directly from Wotc?

That would seem the better way to go business wise. Margins are higher in direct to consumer. There will be less bad will from those that buy a digital copy and the decide to buy a physical copy with a discount. No one expect a physical copy to be free after all. Whereas some expect the digital copy to be free or highly discounted if they own a physical copy.

Just a brain storm.

 

[darjr]

Except, as of now, none of the other vtts have said anything.

 

[darjr]

Buy digital book, get physical book discount when ordering directly from Wotc?

That would seem the better way to go business wise. Margins are higher in direct to consumer. There will be less bad will from those that buy a digital copy and the decide to buy a physical copy with a discount. No one expect a physical copy to be free after all. Whereas some expect the digital copy to be free or highly discounted if they own a physical copy.

Just a brain storm.

Ooohhh and something that could work. Even FLGS could participate.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

My theory is one of the future steps will be a merger between VTT and online metaverse. How to explain it with one example? Let's imagine a new title, Mythforce, an online co-op multiplayer roguelite dungeon-crawling. After a couple of years it doesn't make enough money and servers are closed. It is happening dozens of times. Now let's imagine Mythforce 2 as a licenced title. When you buy the game, for example the physical collector edition (or a special miniature with a pendrive), you get a PDF with the TTRPG version, but also as "gifts" skins you can use in the Fortnite metaverse. Then if you buy that product, you shouldn't worry about the future closing of the servers, because you will can your product, or certain parts, in other way. The software gets old very soon, but the economic value of books are kept better in the time.

* Will we see titles from DMGuild in D&DBeyond?

* WotC should be polite and friendly with 3PPs, because these could change to Pathfinder system, and they are adding lots of new ideas. If Hasbro awaits enough time, some of the publishers could be joined to D&D multiverse, at least to do it before other. Let's imagine Disney buying the trademark of "the Battle of the Bards" setting to produce a CGI musical epic-comedy.

* I would rather to buy books as collector, but there is not enough space at home even if I had got enough money.

 

[JThursby]

This is a good move for WotC, as I think most here agree. Hopefully their future VTT plans involve integrating D&D Beyond into existing services rather than making their own. Paizo just got a partnership with Foundry VTT; if they can afford to hire people to make VTT versions of their content and adventures then WotC certainly can as well.