WotC WotC to power other IPs with D&D and M:TG

In Hasbro’s recent conference call, a few things were mentioned.

• Using D&D and Magic ‘play systems’ to power other IPs via their ‘Universes Beyond’ initiatives
• Using D&D Beyond as a hub
• Other physical and digital tie-ins

The Universes Beyond initiative has been running since early 2021 for Magic: The Gathering, and initially featured a The Walking Dead expansion (grandfathered in from 2020), and a Stranger Things set (2020). 2022 will see Warhammer 40K, Fortnite, and Street Fighter; and a Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth set is going out in 2023.

In addition, properties like Godzilla and Dracula have featured as MtG sets, but not as part of the Universes Beyond initiative; and in 2019 there was a My Little Pony crossover. There have also, of course, been D&D/MtG crossovers in both directions.

Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment President Cynthia Williams said:“You'll see us continue to expand the number of formats and reach new customer segments by expanding our Universes Beyond initiatives, which brings IP from outside of Magic into the Magic play system, We've talked a lot about universes beyond in Magic, which is this concept of thinking about Magic as a play system and bringing in outside brands or outside IP into that play system. We see potential for that with D&D as well."

She also talked about other tie-ins: "And then we see a lot of e-commerce and direct opportunities working in partnership with our Hasbro Pulse team to have physical digital tie-ins that are unique to the platform".

Hasbro’s Chris Cocks mentioned the recent D&D Beyond acquisition: “And then we’ll add on top of that the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons in 2024, where that entertainment, consumer products, and gaming momentum will continue. So, we see a lot of growth vectors and a lot of lifts for D&D with the D&D Beyond platform being central to that.”

IcV2 has a good summary.

WotC Plans to Use 'D&D' Play System for More IPs

And More from Hasbro's Q1 Report

icv2.com

 

[CleverNickName]

If I saw a Harry Potter RPG on the shelf at my gaming store, I would recoil with a hiss.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

How many Star Wars RPG games are we at by now? How do they expect people to invest in a franchise that is so famously flaky and demanding of RPG company?

Back when WotC handled the Pokémon trading card game, they did release a Pokémon 'proto-RPG' for little kids! The Pokémon Jr. Adventure Game!

The Harry Potter franchise is basically unraveling as we speak, with the prequel movies just crashing and burning and JK being a despised TERF... I don't think Hasbro wants to team up with the license in any big way that would draw negative attention their way. It's not the sure money-making franchise it used to be.

the third company is Creatures inc.

A lot of fans have tried to make a Pokémon TTRPG, including one based on 5e, but I've found that all of the ones I've seen get mired in numbers and complex formulas and trying to reproduce the video games way too accurately, with giant move lists for every Pokémon, each with their own individual PP, and long list of held items.

There's one where each Pokémon, and humans (because those games insist on keeping the concept of humans being able to fight) using the six D&D ability scores (despite the fact those scores don't work for what is needed in a Pokémon game) and THEN calculate the game's ability (Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, Speed) for each Pokémon based on those! It's BONKERS.

It's like asking a player to have up to juggle up to seven characters at a time... yikes.

Well, on Star Wars... it's like printing money, who wouldn't want the license? I get their strategy is all over the place, but it's hard to imagine anyone saying "no" to it.

I very much agree on Harry Potter, it's in rough straits. But again, the business folks may think it means money. I still don't think this is a great match for D&D anyway though.

I think Pokemon is a tough sell for many dimensions, mechanically and from a business perspective.

 

[CleverNickName]

I think Pokemon is a tough sell for many dimensions, mechanically and from a business perspective.

This might come as a surprise, considering my avatar, but I would dearly love to see Final Fantasy (especially FFVI) adapted to D&D. Mystara (and later, Eberron) get pretty close, if you squint, but still...no cigar.

 

[Juomari Veren]

Yeah. My expectation is, if the games prove popular, they will either not renew and publish their own version, or like DnDBeyond, buy it outright. However, as all three feel like niche products, I can't really predict what will happen. That said, how many books would you want of any of these properties?

That won't be an issue, the Power Rangers one in particular was incredibly rough and didn't read well. I hear the G.I. Joe one fares a bit better, but the PR one didn't even have stats for NPCs! Plus it only really covered the first few seasons lore-wise, which isn't surprising since those are the most popular but it's weird that it almost sits in its own self contained bubble.

 

[TwoSix]

This might come as a surprise, considering my avatar, but I would dearly love to see Final Fantasy (especially FFVI) adapted to D&D. Mystara (and later, Eberron) get pretty close, if you squint, but still...no cigar.

FFXIV feels like the best fit for a FF adapation, considering its overall scope and current popularity.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

This might come as a surprise, considering my avatar, but I would dearly love to see Final Fantasy (especially FFVI) adapted to D&D. Mystara (and later, Eberron) get pretty close, if you squint, but still...no cigar.

FFXIV feels like the best fit for a FF adapation, considering its overall scope and current popularity.

Well, I'd argue that VII is arguably the most popular Final Fantasy... but it's got a lot of things (firearms chiefly) that make it not as great a fit for D&D.

I'll add, Castlevania also seems like a good fit for D&D.

And I suppose I should mention Street Fighter as it is getting the MTG crossover. I don't think that could support a full sourcebook by itself, but who knows?

 

[TwoSix]

Well, I'd argue that VII is arguably the most popular Final Fantasy... but it's got a lot of things (firearms chiefly) that make it not as great a fit for D&D.

Yea, VII is probably the most popular, but XIV has more of a high fantasy feel that fits current D&D a little better.

 

[Veltharis ap Rylix]

FFXIV feels like the best fit for a FF adapation, considering its overall scope and current popularity.

DM: "So, what kind of character are you playing this campaign?"

Me, a GNB main: Smiles and pulls out a Gunblade

~Later~

DM: "And that's a crit."
Me: "I use Superbolide as a reaction."
Cleric: Eye twitches

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I should also mention... although World of Warcraft (and Diablo I suppose), and League of Legends seem like great D&D supplements to me (and both have actually done limited crossovers before)... both compete with Magic the Gathering Online with Hearthstone and Legends of Runeterra. So they may be pretty unlikely too.

 

[Parmandur]

Maybe! I'm wondering which property both sort-of makes sense to work as a D&D crossover, is big enough to generate excitement, and makes sense in a business perspective (the company holding the property doesn't mind lending its IP to the big toy company).

The big ones that stand out to me are Blizzard/Microsoft (World of Warcraft, Diablo) and maybe Harry Potter. Latter is a stretch on some levels but I think it's possible.

I'm thinking they night not be selling this as "do a D&D for your IP!" so much as a package deal: " do Magic cards, and an RPG, and [fill in the blank] for your IP!".