2024 D&D Core Rulebooks Off to "Strongest-Ever" Start for D&D Books

Dungeons & Dragons got a rare shoutout during Hasbro's 3rd quarter earnings report, with Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks stating that the 2024 Core Rulebooks were off to a record start. Today, Hasbro released its third quarter 2025 earnings report, with Wizards of the Coast propping up the overall revenue for the company. Wizards of the Coast is up 33% YTD, with Magic: The Gathering having a 40% jump compared to last year. However, Cocks also called out Dungeons & Dragons in his comments, speaking to both the Core Rulebooks and D&D Beyond's Maps VTT.

Cocks' full comments (which are admittedly very brief) can be found below:

The refreshed 2024 editions of D&D’s Monster Manual, Players Handbook, and DM Guide are off to the strongest-ever start for D&D books. D&DBEYOND’S new, accessible virtual tabletop has driven weekly traffic up nearly 50% since its September launch.

Hasbro is having a good year, with total revenue up 7% compared to last year. Wizards is expected to be up 36-38% for 2025, largely due to the performance of Magic: The Gathering.

 

[bedir than]

Quite the opposite unless one (kinda sorta correctly) thinks investment runs off of vibes.

The 'enough' level of detail is that MtG carries Hasbro on its broad back with the percentages and numbers to prove it.

Yeah, I think D&D is one of their top brands, but they don't give numbers for Transformers, GI Joe, Pepa Pig either.
Monopoly is the only other regular mention.

 

[Imaro]

If the '24 books were doing bad or just meeting expectations... wouldn't they avoid mentioning them. I like 'D&D '24 and really dont understand the want or need to find a way to make it a failure. Its just weird.

 

[Parmandur]

If the '24 books were doing bad or just meeting expectations... wouldn't they avoid mentioning them. I like 'D&D '24 and really dont understand the want or need to find a way to make it a failure. Its just weird.

I personally don't know if it will be possible for 2024 to outsell 2024 overall, when all is said and done...but that has more to do with how wildly, insnaely successful 2014 was over a surprisingly long period of time, more than a commentary on 2024 being successful or not.

And Hasbro might not even care if they succeed in creating a pipeline of games and shows.

 

[Zardnaar]

I suppose that made sense. 2014 didn't have a massive sales # at launch, right? But more of a constant uptick of new gamers during the past decade. So 2024 would stand to reason to have a large initial sales volume. I'd be curious to see how the 2024 books do compared to 2014 over time.

Yeah 2014 wasn't that high comparatively.

We already knew about 5.5 launch windows.

 

[Zardnaar]

It did reference timeframe. It's talking about from launch to the equivalent point in time.
As these calls are for investors, that's enough detail.
It won't be enough to shutter the click-baiters into insisting that 2024 was a failure though.

As I said its the year 2 trajectory that will matter more.

 

[Zardnaar]

If the '24 books were doing bad or just meeting expectations... wouldn't they avoid mentioning them. I like 'D&D '24 and really dont understand the want or need to find a way to make it a failure. Its just weird.

Its doomers vs glazers basically.

 

[Staffan]

I wouldn't be surprised if the first month or three 2024 PHB outsold the first month or three of the 2014 PHB because the fanbase has grown so much.

Exactly. It would have been remarkable if the first year or so of 5.5 sales hadn't been stronger than the first year or so of 5.0 sales, given the immense growth the game has had in the intervening decade. The interesting thing would be to see how sales look over a longer period, say 5-10 years.

 

[Zardnaar]

Exactly. It would have been remarkable if the first year or so of 5.5 sales hadn't been stronger than the first year or so of 5.0 sales, given the immense growth the game has had in the intervening decade. The interesting thing would be to see how sales look over a longer period, say 5-10 years.

Ding ding ding.

 

[mamba]

Also to nobody's surprise, MTG continues to outscale the rest of Hasbro Total Gaming

it is almost the entire growth of Hasbro Gaming... MtG grew by 347, Gaming without it grew by 24...

 

[TwoSix]

Its doomers vs glazers basically.

Ultimately, the comparison between 5e24 and other editions doesn’t matter. What matters to people is the success of 5e24 compared to the hypothetical paths WotC could have taken instead.