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.

 

[GreyLord]

Translation it's hype.

Of course it's hype.

However, when people complain about investors pushing WotC to monetize D&D MORE...this is why they do it.

Heck...I KNOW what the gig is and what's happening, and even I get frustrated with how little money comes out from these numbers...(and I like to see myself as one of the good guys...though whether people would actually see me like that or not is another matter).

When investors see WotC spout numbers like this in an article...and then they see the results of those numbers in comparison to other companies...yeah...some are going to get REALLY hot under the collar.

That's when they put the pressure on Hasbro for exactly what I'm saying. Where's my money!

I know how hard numbers could be working, I've seen it at other companies...so when I see it from WotC...of course I'm going to spout...okay...well...I don't care about what you SAY...I care about what you are GETTING.

And...of course...I'm not going to be a tenth as pushy as others. If anyone ever wonders where that OGL fiasco was born out of, or any of the other measures players and fans of D&D wonder why Hasbro is doing something...it's things like what you see above and the numbers being reported.

The question they will ask is...If you have 85 million fans...why don't we get money like other companies which have 85 million fans?

It's not going to matter if WotC tries to explain...hey...RPGs just work differently than tech or other places...at the end of the day it's all about the green.

 

[Zardnaar]

Of course it's hype.

However, when people complain about investors pushing WotC to monetize D&D MORE...this is why they do it.

Heck...I KNOW what the gig is and what's happening, and even I get frustrated with how little money comes out from these numbers...(and I like to see myself as one of the good guys...though whether people would actually see me like that or not is another matter).

When investors see WotC spout numbers like this in an article...and then they see the results of those numbers in comparison to other companies...yeah...some are going to get REALLY hot under the collar.

That's when they put the pressure on Hasbro for exactly what I'm saying. Where's my money!

I know how hard numbers could be working, I've seen it at other companies...so when I see it from WotC...of course I'm going to spout...okay...well...I don't care about what you SAY...I care about what you are GETTING.

And...of course...I'm not going to be a tenth as pushy as others. If anyone ever wonders where that OGL fiasco was born out of, or any of the other measures players and fans of D&D wonder why Hasbro is doing something...it's things like what you see above and the numbers being reported.

The question they will ask is...If you have 85 million fans...why don't we get money like other companies which have 85 million fans?

It's not going to matter if WotC tries to explain...hey...RPGs just work differently than tech or other places...at the end of the day it's all about the green.

Sounds like an investors problem.

 

[GreyLord]

Sounds like an investors problem.

I suppose it is.

 

[Sulicius]

Whatever the article says, the investors are more adept and thorough than all of us combined when it comes to figuring out whether this is a financial success.

I'm just happy enough that me and my players want to use the 2024 core books, and I am expecting to still find players in droves who would want to play it.

 

[Morrus]

This indicates 17 million PHB's sold (85/5).

That is not definition of a D&D fan. What you've used there is 'active D&D TTRPG players in a gaming group which has purchased the Player's Handbook', which is something else entirely. A D&D fan is somebody who has interacted with the D&D brand (not the TTRPG specifically, I am figuring here, but the brand).

With 17 million PHBs (2014) that should indicate we get at least 425 million dollars from those sales.

That's not really how books sales work.

You follow thus far?

Oh, I understand your reasoning, thank you. It's just not correct.

 

[see]

As I just posted to the Amazon sales numbers thread, the PHB debuted on the USA Today Bestseller List at #57.

That's lower, IIRC, than some previous 5th edition releases, but there are various reasons why that could have happened. One of which, that I forgot in the Amazon thread, was that that there was a big dropoff in D&D book ranks before and after the multi-month USA Today booklist hiatus, indicating there may have been a methodology change.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

...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!"

Qft.

And I am very on the fence about the new phb: I am not sure I will buy it.

But at a certain point it’s about acknowledging reality. The chassis is popular for sure. I am still going back to it again and again…

So 2014 or 2024 I am in one way or another…

 

[cranberry]

This is no surprise. There are more players now than in 2014, and as someone said earlier, they have reached critical mass.

 

[Parmandur]

And THIS folks, is why I have problems believing the numbers WotC puts out these days at times...because when I think of everyone I know who owned an Xbox 360...just in the US...in WotC's biggest stronghold...and compare to how many are playing D&D....

They didn't say 85 million people bought something, theybsaid there are 85 million "fans" worldwide. They did not provide the metrics, but again, worldwide, and "fans".

If you count everyone worldwide who has played Halo, it would be greater than the sales of any Microsoft console.

I think this gets to the heart, though, of what is driving Hasbro bonkers about owning D&D: it has crazy brand awareness and cultural cache, but it is "underminetized".

 

[Parmandur]

As I just posted to the Amazon sales numbers thread, the PHB debuted on the USA Today Bestseller List at #57.

That's lower, IIRC, than some previous 5th edition releases, but there are various reasons why that could have happened. One of which, that I forgot in the Amazon thread, was that that there was a big dropoff in D&D book ranks before and after the multi-month USA Today booklist hiatus, indicating there may have been a methodology change.

Also, WotC had no direct sale of physical and digital copies in 2014.