D&D General WotC Continues D&D's Advance To Digital First Brand

It's been apparent for some time that Dungeons & Dragons is moving towards a digital-first brand, centered around D&D Beyond, accompanied by a larger a shift into IP and lifestyle property.

D&D has had cartoons, toys, comics, and so on for decades, so this is not new, but the focus on these IP-based licenses appears to be gowing.

In Hasbro's latest earnings call, CEO Chris Cocks notes that the company -- by which he is referring to Hasbro, WotC, and their digital studio teams -- "delighted more than 1 billion kids, families and fans, secured partnerships that further underwrite future growth, advanced our evolution to a digital-first play and IP company and delivered record profits for our shareholders."

As we enter 2026, we view playing to Win and more importantly, the execution behind it by our Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast and digital studio teams as a clear success. Despite market volatility and a shift in consumer environment, we returned this company to growth in a meaningful way. We delighted more than 1 billion kids, families and fans, secured partnerships that further underwrite future growth, advanced our evolution to a digital-first play and IP company and delivered record profits for our shareholders.

As previously mentioned, this isn't really new information, but it is informative to see it clearly laid out by Hasbro's CEO. In the last couple of years, the company has had massive success with Baldur's Gate 3, and critical (if not commercial) success with the movie Honor Amongst Thieves. At least two D&D TV shows are currently in development--one from HBO as a sequel to Baldur's Gate 3, and another from Netflix, also set in the Forgotten Realms. In the eanrings call, Cocks notes that they have "top-tier creative partners across more than 60 active entertainment projects."

Digital sales currently make up 60% of D&D's revenue. With digital-exclusive expansions being sold on D&D Beyond, a robust virtual tabletop integration, and the bringing in of the larger third-party D&D content creators as partnered content, D&D's move towards digital-first is well underway. While there is no indication that the physical books will go away, they are slowly becoming secondary or collector's items rather than the primary product.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

You were the one who put that everyone is carrying around a smartphone so there's no barrier and everyone has the technology to play with them at all times. Now you admit there's a barrier and additional equipment that is needed just to play how we do now?

So, thank you for admitting facts showing you were wrong. Now, will you actually admit you are wrong in your assertion that not all gamers have access to the technology to play purely digital?

A projector is no more necessary for play than a battlemap. D&D has always supported theater of the mind gameplay, and there is no reason to believe that would change with a digital first product. If you're bringing up the concept of battlemaps, you're already introducing the concept of peripherals.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Why you gotta hurt me like this man, that's brutal.

That said I can't rule it out when they're trying to sell games for $90 and stuff already (I mean, they always did, but it's becoming a lot more common). God knows how much GTA VI will cost.

I was actually assuming the price of games is going to stay relatively stable, but I assume the average size of a D&D table is 5 people (300/60=5)

 

[Argyle King]

Not for nothing but there's a setting on most phones called "DND mode"; yeah, it stands for "do not disturb" but I turn it on when I, myself, enter "DND mode" and start DMing. If you don't wanna get distracted, just turn on airplane mode and make sure not to have any distractions saved locally to your phone. It's not a question of technology, it's a question of willpower.

Not wanting to be distracted ≠ not wanting to use a phone to play D&D

You're thinking too small. My DM in 2023 had a bluetooth projector and they would just project the image of a battlemap onto a white table and we could place our minis in the projection. That way he didn't have to lug around a stack of individual maps, nor did he have to take time drawing maps and decorating them.

That's kinda cool. Some people don't use maps. It's not a question of technology, it's a question of willpower.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Not wanting to be distracted ≠ not wanting to use a phone to play D&D

But now we're in the realm of sentiment rather than practicality again. Sentiment is simultaneously valid and indefensible.

That's kinda cool. Some people don't use maps. It's not a question of technology, it's a question of willpower.

And there is no reason why digital tools would impede map-less play, and plenty of examples of how it could be enhanced.

 

[Argyle King]

But now we're in the realm of sentiment rather than practicality again. Sentiment is simultaneously valid and indefensible.

There's nothing impractical about not using a phone for D&D, if that is the preferred experience of a person.

And there is no reason why digital tools would impede map-less play, and plenty of examples of how it could be enhanced.

Sure That wasn't my position.

While, personally, I am not opposed to digital tools, "Enhanced" is subjective.

Supposedly, it's better for me that some restaurants have me scan a code on their tables and order through my phone rather than using physical menus and allowing me to talk to a person. Thus far, the majority of the experiences I have had at places like that have not been an overall better experience than simply doing it the old-fashioned way of just telling a person my order.

 

[Blue]

A projector is no more necessary for play than a battlemap. D&D has always supported theater of the mind gameplay, and there is no reason to believe that would change with a digital first product. If you're bringing up the concept of battlemaps, you're already introducing the concept of peripherals.

So first you make an assertion that we can play digitally with just our smartphones so there is no barrier to play. I challenge on screen-size. You bring up digital projectors as a solution. When I point out that's more than just a smartphone, you pivot again.

Last chance. You have made an assertion that because gamers have smartphones we can all play online. I asserted there isn't enough screen space.

Please, without twisting into bad faith, can you please either tell me how a phone has enough screen space to play like we do now (books open to check stuff on your character sheet, also open, rolling dice, etc), or admit that your assertion that there is no barrier to all-digital because we have smartphones is wrong.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Supposedly, it's better for me that some restaurants have me scan a code on their tables and order through my phone rather than using physical menus and allowing me to talk to a person. Thus far, the majority of the experiences I have had at places like that have not been an overall better experience than simply doing it the old-fashioned way of just telling a person my order.

In theory, from a pure economic perspective, one must ask what the "point" of eating out is. Is it merely offloading the labor of cooking and preparing food onto someone else, a literal exchange of money for a good and a service?

Or are you going to a restaurant for the experience, the ritual, the "theater" of fine dining? The "May I take your coat sir" and the "Excellent choice sir" and the "Is everything to your liking?" of the white tablecloths and stuffed shirts?

If the telos of the restaurant is the former, then the labor provided by the server and the wages paid to them are wasted, much like friction generates heat in a machine that simply radiates into the air rather than being put to use. If one were to better design the machine and use frictionless materials, that energy could be recaptured into the system, or in this case, eliminating the waiter should in theory pass the savings on to the consumer.

But if it's the latter, then until we have machines that are 100% indistinguishable from humans, and part of what you're paying for is the idea that you are getting attention and service from someone who is choosing to engage in the ritual that brings you comfort, then, sure, you're allowed to prefer it. But you have to acknowledge then this is a matter of subjectivity, not an engineering problem.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Last chance. You have made an assertion that because gamers have smartphones we can all play online. I asserted there isn't enough screen space.

At no point did I ever assert anything about online connectivity. Please stick to the topic at hand. My assertions have always been about computers as a replacement for paper products for D&D; books, character sheets, maps.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Here's a good analogy.

Before the discovery of the Americas by Columbus, balls used for Old World ballgames, as the medium of the game, were made primarily of leather and inflated animal bladders. After the Columbian exchange introduced the concept of rubber balls, rubber totally eclipsed bladders and in many cases replaced leather as well. If you're a historical reenactor who's interested in playing Calcio Storico with a ball made from an inflated pig bladder no one's stopping you, but you also can't reasonably expect to pop into a sporting goods store and buy one like that, right?

 

[mamba]

it would be an amazing business model to have both revenue and profits go up while making products that a plurality of fans dislike -- basically impossible.

yeah, won’t be a plurality that dislikes them, but that is a far cry from

they are producing things that more people like.

To be clear, I have no idea how the new stuff is selling compared to the old ones. I know the new core sold great, but that is to be expected as you get customers upgrading while still having about the same number of new ones coming in.

2025 being a good year for D&D as a consequence of that is expected, regardless of how popular the core will turn out to be in the long run or the Dragon Delve book was in the short run.

Given that Hasbro does not break down D&D, MtG, and whatever digital is, we cannot really even say anything specific to D&D. The only thing we probably can say is that given MtG’s dominance of the revenue side, it does not appear to have lost a lot of customers and probably had a lot more sales given the jump in revenue and profit for the category (haven’t taken a closer look at their report)