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.

 

[Parmandur]

they also seem very much two unrelated numbers, so I would not give much credence to the 1 in 5 ratio. Sure, that is what the math says, but it is not really a meaningful ratio. It tells us nothing about how many D&D players there are, which is what I was essentially looking for

One is part of the other, by definition: not many people signing up for Beyond accounts who are not D&D fans.

 

[Retreater]

I’m very much considering a prohibition on YouTube videos being posted without commentary. If you can’t type it. It doesn’t need to be on a discussion forum.

Since I posted the two video links with minimal comments, I apologize and will do better in the future.
I did not post them to start a fight on here - just wanted to share some potentially newsworthy links.

 

[mamba]

One is part of the other, by definition: not many people signing up for Beyond accounts who are not D&D fans.

sure, but the 85M is not the upper limit for DDB accounts, that is much lower, not every fan is a player

 

[Morrus]

WotC provided two numbers, one of which is a superset of the other. The 18 millions is probably more concrete, since they have a databae of account, while the 85 million is probavly based on some sort of market research...but they are related. WotC does really believe they have 4 times as many "fans" (however that is measured) that are not signed up for Beyond as they do who actively have an account.

That particular ratio conversation slipped under my radar. I can't see any valid mathematical use for it. But it's not what I was talking about.

 

[Morrus]

just wanted to share some potentially newsworthy links.

Try to find some videos with actual news in them, then. Not clickbait which has now completely taken over this thread to the point of destroying it.

 

[Parmandur]

That particular ratio conversation slipped under my radar. I can't see any valid mathematical use for it. But it's not what I was talking about.

Ah, my apologies, I might be missing some part of the conversation.

The only use I see is as a lens for interpretation of WotC motivations. If they have nearly 70 million people who love D&D but haven't even signed up for a free account...it makes sense when they say tge brand is "undersmonetized".

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Since I posted the two video links with minimal comments, I apologize and will do better in the future.
I did not post them to start a fight on here - just wanted to share some potentially newsworthy links.

I think it is useful, when posting a link to a video to include some text as to what point the video is supporting or reporting on. It is not like we all have time to watch the video when reading a thread.

 

[mamba]

The only use I see is as a lens for interpretation of WotC motivations. If they have nearly 70 million people who love D&D but haven't even signed up for a free account...it makes sense when they say tge brand is "undersmonetized".

a free account does not help all that much with monetization… if you want people that do not play D&D to buy D&D products, you need merchandise, video games, books, etc., those people will not buy much on DDB

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Ah, my apologies, I might be missing some part of the conversation.

The only use I see is as a lens for interpretation of WotC motivations. If they have nearly 70 million people who love D&D but haven't even signed up for a free account...it makes sense when they say tge brand is "undersmonetized".

I personally think that is only part of what they mean by "undermonetised". I think that they are also looking at things like the success of Baldur's Gate and thinking that they could leverage D&D brand recognition in other areas like video games and other formats like movies and tv.

 

[Parmandur]

a free account does not help all that much with monetization… if you want people that do not play D&D to buy D&D products, you need merchandise, video games, books, etc., those people will not buy much on DDB

Of 60 million people signed up for a free account, some would pay for something...probably a predictable percentage.