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.

 

[Morrus]

So a retailer friend of mine actually called Barns & Nobles stores and asked if they had the 2024 PHB and every single one of them had them.

He went to the stores web sites in Manhatten and it was there then he called them and they said they had plenty.

Let's be fair, that's anecdotal also. If we're going to insist on accurate data, then we need to use actual data. Otherwise we might as well make a youtube channel with big writing saying 'D&D DISASTER! THE WORST EVER DISASTER YET! MORE DISASTER THAN LAST KEYWORD DISASTER! THE INTERNET HAS EXPLODED OVER IT! SO DISASTER EVERYBODY IS TALKING ABOUT IT DISASTER KEYWORD WORST EVER D&D EXPLODE DISASTER! EXPLODE!"

Yes, there's literally a popular youtube channel where that's the titles of like the last 100 videos. Usually it's like there was a font change in the index that nobody noticed or something.

 

[dragoner]

So a retailer friend of mine actually called Barns & Nobles stores and asked if they had the 2024 PHB and every single one of them had them.

He went to the stores web sites in Manhatten and it was there then he called them and they said they had plenty.

I had to laugh, having dinner with people after GenCon, and another old D&Der said how wotc was screwing up with the current stuff, I was like, I wish I could screw up that bad.

 

[Hussar]

I had to laugh, having dinner with people after GenCon, and another old D&Der said how wotc was screwing up with the current stuff, I was like, I wish I could screw up that bad.

I know, right? I WISH my business was doing as badly as WotC in the last 10 years. So do many other businesses I think.

It's no different from "Science Fiction is dying" that you see in SF fandom. D&D has been "dying" since 1982.

 

[darjr]

Gary Ray from Black Diamond Games chimes in.

 

[dragoner]

I know, right? I WISH my business was doing as badly as WotC in the last 10 years. So do many other businesses I think.

It's no different from "Science Fiction is dying" that you see in SF fandom. D&D has been "dying" since 1982.

Totally, I mean we'd just seen some insane line out the football stadium for people buying the new PHB, I think someone said 80,000 copies.

 

[Morrus]

I had to laugh, having dinner with people after GenCon, and another old D&Der said how wotc was screwing up with the current stuff, I was like, I wish I could screw up that bad.

I know, right? I WISH my business was doing as badly as WotC in the last 10 years. So do many other businesses I think.

It's no different from "Science Fiction is dying" that you see in SF fandom. D&D has been "dying" since 1982.

Let's be fair. These are clearly statements of taste and preference, not commercial success. Mocking them might be fun and make you feel good about yourself, because your tastes happen to align with current commercial success, but it is not kind.

(And you will one day find yourself disagreeing with a popular commercial choice--in fact, I dare you to say right now there's not one currently successful actor, musical artist, band, or TV show you don't like).

Being one of the popular kids and mocking others is not kind. Let's not be that person.

 

[darjr]

So I called a New York Barnes & Noble myself. They did have the PHB, but only one left.

they did say they were only given a few and were trying to order more.

 

[dragoner]

Let's be fair. These are clearly statements of taste and preference, not commercial success. Mocking them might be fun and make you feel good about yourself, because your tastes happen to align with current commercial success, but it is not kind.

(And you will one day find yourself disagreeing with a popular commercial choice--in fact, I dare you to say right now there's not one currently successful actor, musical artist, band, or TV show you don't like).

Being one of the popular kids and mocking others is not kind. Let's not be that person.

You are right, it isn't nice to mock people in a hurtful way, I agree. I think it is way more popular now, I mean we were reminiscing about our AD&D and 2e games mostly, playing in the dorms, all that. We were way not as popular. He was talking about commercial success though. Edit: You are not wrong either about a lot of us older folks not really getting the changes, some take it worse than others, just part of getting old. I'm fine with the changes, people should make the game their own. Though for all of us, and about so much, it's Jacob's Ladder:
"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of life, your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you, he said. They're freeing your soul. So, if you're frightened of dying and... and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from the earth."

 

[mamba]

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

that would require 60M D&D players, I do not believe they have that. To me the undermonetization is more about merchandise, video games etc. I am sure they would want to sell more per D&D player too, but it is not limited to that, and for that part they are working on their VTT

 

[DarkCrisis]

My uncle who works at WotC (yes the same one that works at Nintendo) says it’s the best selling D&D ever.