D&D General Penguin Random House To Stop Distributing D&D [UPDATED!]

A memo which went out to retailers this week indicates that Penguin Random House will not be distributing Dungeons & Dragons products in mainstream bookstores from 2024.

Effective December 31, 2023, Penguin Random House LLC will cease distributing titles for Wizards of the Coast LLC. Depending on the product, please ensure that the vendor of record for Wizards of the Coast LLC titles is changed to one of their new distributors listed here: Distributors | WPN."

WotC uses a range of distributors, including Alliance, Diamond, GTS, and more in the US, and Asmodee and others in the UK and Europe. Most of these deal with hobby trade (game stores and the like) retailers, while Penguin Random House is a general book trade publisher. Of course, the game will still be available on Amazon, also.

This isn't brand new news--WotC announced this back at the beginning of September.

UPDATE--WotC spoke to ICv2:

Penguin Random House is a valued partner and publishing licensee of Wizards of the Coast. While we deeply appreciate the excellent service provided over the years by PRHPS, we are now shifting our distribution strategy to utilize the capabilities of Hasbro to sell and distribute D&D products to retailers, and we will continue to partner with PRH on licensed D&D titles like the recently released Lore & Legends and the upcoming Hero's Feast: Flavors of the Multiverse. This change to distribution of Wizards' D&D roleplaying game publications such as rulebooks and adventure content won't affect fans as they will continue to find Dungeons & Dragonsproducts at their preferred retailers.

 

[darjr]

Most of the 5e sales were Amazon. Period.

Bookstores are probably a very tiny slice and certainly not a major part of 5e’s success at all.

Don’t know that for sure. Lots of books went through big box stores. And FLGS.

 

[FrogReaver]

Most of the 5e sales were Amazon. Period.

Bookstores are probably a very tiny slice and certainly not a major part of 5e’s success at all.

I think bookstores were important - mostly so people can see what they are buying first. Helps bring younger kids in more as parents buy them things more from where they shop than FLGS. Or at least can take a peak before buying it on Amazon.

 

[kenmarable]

Don’t know that for sure. Lots of books went through big box stores. And FLGS.

Did a lot of books sell through big box stores? The only data I’ve seen is extrapolation from BookScan which includes Amazon. Maybe I’m wrong and lots are being sold off the shelf at Barnes & Noble, but no one knows that outside of WotC.

It‘s purely anecdotal, but I do know our local bookstore sells them from a locked case since they had more of them stolen than they were actually selling. And, of course, being in a locked case, they are selling even fewer now.

So I could easily be wrong but all evidence I’ve seen just as likely points to getting a bigger slice of Amazon sales would far outweigh any loss of traditional bookstore sales. It’s been a long time since I worked at Borders corporate, but I know at least 20 years ago Amazon was a juggernaut crushing brick & mortar book sales, and it’s only grown massively since then. Amazon is orders of magnitude larger than all other traditional bookstores combined. I would not be surprised if even a 10% greater cut from Amazon was far larger than all traditional bookstore revenue.

But, of course, none of us outside of WotC accounting know, I think. So I’ll freely admit I could be wrong, of course.

 

[kenmarable]

I think bookstores were important - mostly so people can see what they are buying first. Helps bring younger kids in more as parents buy them things more from where they shop than FLGS. Or at least can take a peak before buying it on Amazon.

I agree that is helpful and does happen a lot - especially the “take a peak before buying it on Amazon”. But from a sales number perspective the bookstores HATE that for obvious reasons, and it’s still sales through Amazon that are unlikely to decline all that much if they have to take a peak at it on Amazon rather than in person physically. Sure, it will be a hit in sales, I’m just highly skeptical that the hit will be significant enough to not be massively counterbalanced by cutting the middle-business out of the ridiculously larger Amazon sales.

 

[Mistwell]

This is a massive hit in sales, most of the sales for 5e were bookstores and Amazon.

I know for sure Barnes & Noble also uses one of the other six distributors still distributing the game. So I don't know how much of a hit it will be.

 

[Mistwell]

The official list of distributors

There are six, and most have multiple geographic locations. I cannot think of a major book store chain that doesn't already use one of these for some of their products.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

If I am not wrong in Spain they can be distributed by Devir and Asmodee. I don't advice to bee too linked to Amazon. I have readen something, and if my suspects are true, they aren't the type of company you want to be close when a scandal breaks out.

I wonder if we are going to see deals with new partners.

 

[R_J_K75]

I stopped playing 5E D&D probably a year ago, and the last product I bought was the Spelljammer slipcase, so it's been a little under 14 months since I bought anything from WotC. Im not saying D&D is a bad game, (or WotC is a bad company) I have just outgrown 5E and probably D&D in general. But having said that I do plan to buy at the very least D&D 5E 2024 core books, (I really hope they give it a better name) because I'm curious as to what changes will eventually be made. If this distribution change in any way has a significant impact on pricing of those books and/or the lengths I have to go to get them, then I'm out for good. I really want the revisions being released next year to win me back but I'm skeptical.

 

[darjr]

Did a lot of books sell through big box stores? The only data I’ve seen is extrapolation from BookScan which includes Amazon. Maybe I’m wrong and lots are being sold off the shelf at Barnes & Noble, but no one knows that outside of WotC.

It‘s purely anecdotal, but I do know our local bookstore sells them from a locked case since they had more of them stolen than they were actually selling. And, of course, being in a locked case, they are selling even fewer now.

So I could easily be wrong but all evidence I’ve seen just as likely points to getting a bigger slice of Amazon sales would far outweigh any loss of traditional bookstore sales. It’s been a long time since I worked at Borders corporate, but I know at least 20 years ago Amazon was a juggernaut crushing brick & mortar book sales, and it’s only grown massively since then. Amazon is orders of magnitude larger than all other traditional bookstores combined. I would not be surprised if even a 10% greater cut from Amazon was far larger than all traditional bookstore revenue.

But, of course, none of us outside of WotC accounting know, I think. So I’ll freely admit I could be wrong, of course.

Could be. But bookscan including Amazon numbers is also iffy. Their reporting is spotty.

However I’m hearing that reporting across the board may be spotty too.

Also FLGS do sell a lot of books.

 

[teitan]

DnDBeyond.

As for this being a big hit to sales...there are few book stores left in my town, and the ones that remain cater to more niche customers; they don't sell RPG books. The one Indigo that is left mostly sells gifts, not books. I think it's unlikely that this will have much impact on sales.

Yeah sure but book stores according to the sales leak was a massive part of the continued, ongoing success of 5e, whether your town had one or not. Parents were picking them up in those stores and also Targets and Walmarts. If they were using Random House that's a big hit too because that was a big part of the chain.