D&D (2024) 2024 Player’s Handbook is ‘Fastest Selling D&D Book Ever’

It’s only officially been out for a week, but according to Wizards of the Coast, the new Dungeons & Dragons Player’s Handbook has already surpassed Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything to become the fastest selling D&D book ever—in the entire 50-year history of the game. It has sold three times as many copies as the 2014 version of the books did at launch.

Not only that, the 2024 Player’s Handbook was the biggest print run in D&D’s history.

In a press release today, WotC claims more than 85 million D&D fans worldwide, and says that D&D Beyond, the game’s official online platform, has over 18 million users.

 

[MockingBird]

So the bubble hasn't popped just yet?

 

[Oofta]

So the bubble hasn't popped just yet?

Any day now!

 

[bedir than]

didn’t they say this print run was so big they needed to split it across printers though?

Their claim was that due to the large order size and the shutting down of two of the four largest US printers they couldn't do all three core books at once.

Guess it depends on the printers. We've never really had a problem, and we're tiny. WotC has a lot more leverage than us.

They have less available printers to talk to because most can't handle their scale

 

[Warpiglet-7]

Well the bad news is that after a decade of rigorous play no one has realized that the game sucks and promotion alone has dazzled and tricked them; and now into the second decade of popularity people are scammed unwittingly again.

Any additional million sold will finally reveal the truth. They did it again, tricking fanbois, young, old, men and women. Suckers all of you…

Now a truly popular product will stand the test of time. None of this decade long garbage…we need to see 20-30 years of sustained year on year growth.

 

[CleverNickName]

Now a truly popular product will stand the test of time. None of this decade long garbage…we need to see 20-30 years of sustained year on year growth.

...after which time, we will revise it to 30-40 years, or 50-60 years, or more, however long it takes until I can point at the graph and shout "ah HA, I told you so!"

 

[SkidAce]

Might explain why when I went over to the gaming section at my local Barnes & Noble to flip through a copy, I found about 6 copies of the 2014 PHB but a big gap where the 2024 books should have been.

Yeah, we ran out day after release.

 

[Eyes of Nine]

3 times actually seems smaller than I would have thought, considering how many people are playing D&D in 2024 compared to 2014.

 

[el-remmen]

Yeah, we ran out day after release.

Do you work at the South Hills Village Mall Barnes & Noble in Pittsburgh?

 

[Chaltab]

3 times actually seems smaller than I would have thought, considering how many people are playing D&D in 2024 compared to 2014.

I'd wager a good chunk of players get by with borrowed books & gently (or liberally) applied piracy. hell the whole book is already programmed into one of the biggest of those sites.

 

[Superchunk77]

Where's the "WotC is not doing a good job promoting the new PHB" comment?

It seems they've done at least an ok job of promoting it given this.

Or they just had a bunch of 5e players from the last 10 years, that were already aware of the 2024 books, buy it.