WotC Hasbro Bets Big on D&D

During today's 'Hasbro Fireside Chat', Hasbro's Chris Cocks, chief executive officer, and Cynthia Williams, president of Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming mentioned D&D, and about betting big on its name. This was in addition to the Magic: The Gathering discussion they held on the same call.

The following are rough notes on what they said.

D&D Beyond

• Leaning heavily on D&D Beyond
• 13 million registered users
• Give them more ways to express their fandom
• Hired 350 people last year
• Low attrition

What’s next for D&D

• Never been more popular
• Brand under-monetized
• Excited about D&D Beyond possibilities
• Empower accessibility and development of the user base.
• Data driven insight
• Window into how players are playing
• Companion app on their phone
• Start future monetization starting with D&D Beyond
• DMs are 20% of the audience but lions share of purchases
• Digital game recurrent spending for post sale revenue.
• Speed of digital can expand, yearly book model to include current digital style models.
• Reach highly engaged multigenerational fans.
• Dungeons and Dragons has recognition, 10 out of 10
• Cultural phenomenon right now.
• DND strategy is a broad four quadrant strategy
• Like Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings or Marvel
• New books and accessories, licensed game stuff, and D&D Beyond
• Huge hopes for D&D

What is success for the D&D Movie

• First big light up oppourtunity for 4th quadrant
• Significant marketing
• They think it’ll have significant box office
• It has second most viewed trailer at Paramount, only eclipsed by Transformers
• Will be licensed video games, some on movies
• Then follow up other media, TV, other movies, etc.
• Bullish on D&D.

 

[Rabulias]

I just think it will be a sad day when there is DDB only stuff. Adventure books and supplements etc. Want the new Faerun book? Only on DDB! Be sure you have the DDB app so you can take it to the game table with you!

I think when this day comes, most (if not all) of us will be long dead. More players own physical books than are using D&D Beyond, and while digital usage is growing, paper is still king.

 

[Velderan]

Well sure, but hasn't the publishing rate of 5e products been on an uptick for the last few years?

This is just counting hardcover books.

2014 5 (PHB, DMG, MM, HotDQ, TRoT)
2015 3 (SCAG, PotA, OotA)
2016 3 (CoS, SKT, VGtM)
2017 3 (XGtE, ToA, TFtYP)
2018 4 (MToF, GGtR, W: DH, W: DotMM)
2019 4 (GoSM, BG: DiA, E: RFtLW, ToD)
2020 4 (TCoE, EGtW, MOoT, ID: RotF)
2021 5 (FToD, VRGtR, S: ACoC, TWBtW, CM)
2022 5 (MP: MotM, CR: CotN, JTtRC, SJ: AiS, DL: SotDQ)

Edit:
2023 5 Projected (Keys from the Golden Vault, Bigby Presents Glory of the Giants, The Book of Many Things, Phandelver Campaign, Planescape)

 

[darjr]

This is just counting hardcover books.

2014 5 (PHB, DMG, MM, HotDQ, TRoT)
2015 3 (SCAG, PotA, OotA)
2016 3 (CoS, SKT, VGtM)
2017 3 (XGtE, ToA, TFtYP)
2018 4 (MToF, GGtR, W: DH, W: DotMM)
2019 4 (GoSM, BG: DiA, E: RFtLW, ToD)
2020 4 (TCoE, EGtW, MOoT, ID: RotF)
2021 5 (FToD, VRGtR, S: ACoC, TWBtW, CM)
2022 5 (MP: MotM, CR: CotN, JTtRC, SJ: AiS, DL: SotDQ)

Edit:
2023 5 Projected (Keys from the Golden Vault, Bigby Presents Glory of the Giants, The Book of Many Things, Phandelver Campaign, Planescape)

I think the more books there are the more “heavy” the release cycle may feel. Or just the presence of all those books.

 

[Steel_Wind]

But I'm getting the D&D branded Trivia Pursuit games for x-mas.

There's a D&D Trivial Pursuit??!? ....Googles....

Oh my!

 

[Scribe]

There was some interesting D&D info about DMs and whales though. Basically a few people here like telling older players to shut up it's all about new players hut it seems the hard core are the DMs and bug spenders.

That is an interesting wrinkle.

 

[J.Quondam]

I think some fears emerge from the idea that the strategies to increase revenue we have seen in video games will make their way into D&D in a way that fundamentally changes how we consume D&D and what it looks like.

Yes. I think a (imo legit) fear is that those sorts of things shift the baseline expectation of what it means to "play D&D" for newcomers to the game.
I know it's a little chicken little at this point, but I can envision, a generation or so from now, that the "TT" part of TTRPGing will be a long-forgotten fossil, and the idea of fully-online subscription-based RPGAAS ("Role-playing Gaming As A Service") could be the norm.
I mean, it might well be an awesome experience if/when it happens, but I do honestly believe there's a pretty good chance it will happen eventually.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The thing about microtransaction models is they shift the priorities from making a product which will sells itself on its high quality, to encouraging user retention and recurrent spending through manipulative design.

They can. But it's not a requirement.

World of Warcraft has had microtransactions for years, with a similar reaction from fans when they were first introduced.

And none of it is required.

Do you want a really cool animated costume element (a baby murloc on a papoose, a set of robes with animated stars and constellations floating around it)? Great! It has no stats and is not, by any means, required.

Do you want a fancy mount, in a game that is constantly giving out fancy mounts? (The fanciest mounts ever are at the heart of the latest expansion.) Go for it! They offer no advantage over other mounts, other than the fact that you get to ride around on a pretty flying dog or pig or space cat.

And in-game play has not changed at all as a result. Yes, Activision/Blizzard (and soon, Microsoft) rely on this as an additional stream of revenue, but the in-game shop has in no way ruined or impacted the actual game play through new manipulative designs. (I mean, MMOs in general are already pretty "sticky" in that regard, but the store isn't part of it here.)

 

[Oofta]

The 350 people are probably not exclusively working on the VTT, I think.

Maybe 1 or 2 could work on the encounter builder so that it's no longer in beta?

 

[darjr]

That is an interesting wrinkle.

@Zardnaar
Are you two assuming that most DMs are older folks? Seems like a stretch.

 

[Oofta]

I just think it will be a sad day when there is DDB only stuff. Adventure books and supplements etc. Want the new Faerun book? Only on DDB! Be sure you have the DDB app so you can take it to the game table with you!

They've stated elsewhere that they have no intent of going online only with content.