D&D 5E D&D Digital Plans To Be Revealed On February 21st

Brian D. Goldner, Chairman of the Board and CEO at Hasbro took part in the company's Quarter 4 2019 earnings call. This included several references to D&D.

• D&D grew again for the sixth year in a row.
• Streaming D&D content was up nearly 50% on last year.
• Substantial new (digital) gaming plans for D&D will be revealed on February 21st at Hasbro's Analyst Day
• Total games category grew by 6%, as D&D, MtG, and Monopoly bolstered declines elsewhere.
• Profit declined due to digital D&D and M:tG digital games investment.

"Well, good morning, and we did see very strong growth for Magic: The Gathering and increased growth for Dungeons & Dragons. "

"Magic: The Gathering revenues increased more than 30% in the year, behind double-digit growth in tabletop play and a strong first year for Magic: The Gathering Arena. Dungeons & Dragons revenues grew for the sixth straight year, and we are meaningfully investing in both brands to drive engaging storytelling, while developing new digital games with high margin profitable growth longer term. We look forward to sharing our 2020 new gaming plans for Magic and D&D on February 21. MONOPOLY had double-digit revenue growth and grew in each region with new themes and relevant entertainment tie-ins. We advanced our consumer products licensing business growing revenues double digits and expanding operating profit margin. We've broadened our licensed brand portfolio and expanded our reach with original live events that drive consumer engagement."

"In addition, for D&D, we did see our sixth straight year of growth. We are seeing about 150 million hours of content viewed on Twitch and YouTube, which is up nearly 50% year-on-year. In the first half of 2020, we are seeing a lot of new initiatives coming for the brand, but again I'm going to let Chris walk us through at at our Analyst Day, our plans for digital gaming, which are again substantial for D&D that begins in 2020."

"You'll also see great digital game development for D&D. And we will see you on February 21 to outline that."

"Our total games category grew 6% for the year, fueled by growth in Magic: The Gathering and MONOPOLY. Higher revenues from Dungeons & Dragons and several classic games titles did not offset declines in our Hasbro Gaming portfolio"

"Adjusted operating profit and profit margin declined as we invest in digital gaming initiatives including Magic: The Gathering Arena and future Magic and Dungeons & Dragons digital games."

"We delivered compelling gaming experiences, led by the work of our teams at Wizards of the Coast. Our positive results to date have us on plan to double Wizards of the Coast coast revenues over five years from 2018 to 2023."

You can read the full transcript at The Motley Fool.

• WotC acquired Tuque, a video games company last year which is working on a brand new D&D video game called D&D: Dark Alliance.
• There is also, of course, Baldur's Gate 3 coming soon.
• Archetype Entertainment is WotC own new video game studio headed by ex-Bioware staff.

 

[CapnZapp]

You should know that each time a tabletop rpg publisher has "diversified" into other, more lucrative, markets, the pen and paper games have been the first victim.

The only way to produce a ttrpg is if it's publisher only exists in that sector, and not in any of the infinitely more lucrative sectors such as board games, action figures, movie merchandise or computer games.

 

[Morrus]

The only way to produce a ttrpg is if it's publisher only exists in that sector, and not in any of the infinitely more lucrative sectors such as board games, action figures, movie merchandise or computer games.

WotC does all of those things, and has done since it acquired TSR. So clearly that's not the only way to produce a TTRPG..

 

[generic]

My guess is that either a Magic: The Gathering ARPG or a new IP not connected original IPs might be in the works.

 

[Rikka66]

Makes you wonder if they might not try another D&D MMO. I'm not sure they are earning any revenue from DDO at this point in its life cycle. Since that one is 3.5 based, a MMO based off the 5e rules might be feasible. The real problem with that is it takes a few years to build and launch a MMO compared to a regular video game. That and a much higher price tag for development.

Neverwinter is still running and being updated.

 

[Morrus]

IIRC there was news recently of about six D&D video game things in planning.

 

[gyor]

It'd be interesting if Pool of Radiance 3 was being green light, I hope so.

 

[Shiroiken]

Ok, what I want to know is how the heck did Monopoly have double-digit growth? Seriously???

As an avid boardgamer, this was my thoughts as well. It's such a terrible game. Even if you play by the actual rules (which almost no one ever does), there's only one viable strategy: buy key properties and send everything else to auction.

 

[Beleriphon]

As an avid boardgamer, this was my thoughts as well. It's such a terrible game. Even if you play by the actual rules (which almost no one ever does), there's only one viable strategy: buy key properties and send everything else to auction.

As an educational game about the evils of capitalism though....

 

[Undrave]

Ok, what I want to know is how the heck did Monopoly have double-digit growth? Seriously???

Well they released the Nintendo Monopoly Gamer with character powers with booster packs of characters... then the Mario Kart version. There's other variations like Ultimate Banking and Cheater's Edition and Monopoly Socialism...

And of course, every franchise under the sun has a Monopoly these days (the Funko Pop! approach), and then some (Chocolate Lover Monopoly? Dog Lover Monopoly? Beer Lover Monopoly?) which I bet are only bought for novelty collection purpose and maybe played once. If that.

It's basically a franchise of its own. Just search 'monopoly' on Amazon just to see the insane amount of stuff that comes up.

I've got a bad feeling about this....

"Today Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast are excited to announce the latest official D&D setting is…..Monopoly! Yes, now your adventurers can finally explore iconic locations like Park Place and Broadway! Loot legendary treasure from the mythical Community Chest! New playable races include Top Hat, Race Car, and other favorites. Also includes rules for new downtime activities like real estate management and going to jail. Pre-order your copy today!"

We could also get a Monopoly Waterdeep.

 

[teitan]

Considering Neverwinter is still regularly updated and supported across multiple platforms I don’t think Hasbro will want to cannibalize that monetary stream. While DDO still exists it was long in the tooth when Neverwinter came out! I’m surprised it’s still running.