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.

 

[Dire Bare]

Just a reminder that there have been some 1pp 5e supplements that were released as digital-only on DnDBeyond. I think the biggest drag with those is that since they're not even released on PDF, getting them in print is kind of a pain, even with the fan-made chrome extension that lets you PDF-ify your owned DDB stuff.

I'm fine with digital-only D&D products . . . depending on the format. Small, secondary releases, sure! Major releases, no thanks. So far, I've been pretty happy with WotC's choices on digital-only. The most recent digital-only offerings, I wouldn't have purchased print copies if they were available.

I'd be more happy if they offered digital-only in a variety of formats, including web format, PDF, and EPUB.

 

[Riley]

I’m interested in buying a couple of Wizards’ recent FR web releases, but I can’t buy them to own, so whatever I guess

 

[Silam]

[some odd rhetoric about bladders …] I see no reason why we can't simply "fork" the game like an open source program.

I want to throw another angle into this drama-infused thread.

I feel like WotC so far have demonstrated that they’re not that good at software… am I alone in this impression?

Maybe acquiring D&DB is the inflection point and everything will be hunky dory, but personally, I have doubts.

That is where open source comes in. In a sense, the SRD is the equivalent of open source code for TTRPGs, and I think it’s a good thing (especially since the CC license). But… IMHO, it’s not enough.

I see a fork in the road where digital-first could be either terrific or terrible.

You see, I may be a supporter of open source, but that doesn’t mean I endorse Stallman’s pledge to stop bathing until the world is free. I also believe in capitalism and competition. I think it’s important to have options for which software we choose to play D&D with.

To some extent, we already have that, except we don’t. They allow 3rd party VTTs, but you have to buy digital content on each separately. I hate that. It creates friction, inertia against switching to another VTT. That reduces competition and degrades innovation.

I have experience playing with Fantasy Grounds. I like that it opened up the possibility of remote playing in cases where getting together is impossible or impractical. But I still prefer playing in person. We tried FG in person but it’s not really a good enough value add.

But here’s the thing… although I have mixed feelings about FG, I will probably never try any other VTT, because we have sunk so much into this darn one. It’s daunting to think of re-buying content for another one.

So… all that to say… I think the most successful strategy, both commercially but also to do right by players, would be the following:

• Every physical book comes with a unique code to make it "digital-ready".
• A portion of the book sale price is set aside, accounting-wise, to represent the "digital value". If the book is never used digitally, then that portion stays in WotC’s coffers forever.
• If a book’s code is scannd for use in a digital tool, the tool can "phone home" to a WotC API. The API records usage of the book by that tool.
• Whenever a new tool is used for a given book, half the remaining "digital value" is paid to the tools developer as a kickback.
• A book can also be purchased digitally only, in which case WotC should also give a kickback to the tools developer that referred the player for that sale.
• Ideally, it should be possible to purchase physical books while deducting the digital price that’s already been paid. This is certaibly possible if ordering directly from WotC, though more complicated if buying at a local book store.

Anyway, the point is that if we let capitalism do its thing in a truly free market, we could benefit from a plethora of amazing tools. But for the market to be truly free, there must be no switching costs, no lock-in. This greed is seemingly great for shareholders in the short-term, but it derails the free market and ultimately results in a smaller pie / a shittier experience.

sorry for the long rant. Hope that made sense

 

[Clint_L]

I want to throw another angle into this drama-infused thread.

I feel like WotC so far have demonstrated that they’re not that good at software… am I alone in this impression?

Depends. DDB is excellent - they didn't create it, but they've developed it very well since acquiring it, between adding the extremely user-friendly Maps VTT (must be user friendly, because I was using it within minutes, and I'm a dumbass with tech), and incorporating 3PP.

The "prioritizing digital" strategy isn't really new; it was the main thrust of the "OneD&D" announcement a few years back, so to me this just seems like confirmation of what was already happening. I think it opens up new avenues of play; fortunately, nothing I've seen indicates that anyone's preferred playstyle is at risk. If you're strictly books, dice, and paper character sheets, you're still totally covered.

Personally, I prefer digital books, and character sheets, but I'm old school with regards to using analog dice, miniatures, and terrain. But only when given my preference - for school games and online games I am happy to have Maps. And I like that the digital stuff is a lot cheaper, while streamlining an awful lot of prep for me (the Encounter Builder!).

Someone earlier commented that this is the Golden Age, as far as having options goes. I tend to agree.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Sorry if this may sound a little off-topic but I have read something about plans for Fornite to become a videogame "store within store" app like Steam. This could be used by Hasbro to sell its own conent, for example the virtual boardgame of "Fortnite: Save the World" by Avalon Hill or a 4X-TBS videogame set in Cerilia(Birthright setting). The failed "Dark Alliance" could enjoy a second opportunity like a mode within Fortnite or maybe I'm rambling because of some misunderstanding.

* Today you can get free pdfs but if you manage the loyalty of your clients then these are willing to pay for those titles. It is like the launcher of Epic Games gifting a free game and then this is sold in Steam.

* To sell TTRPGs isn't so easy because in small towns there aren't comic stores or like this. These are sold in capital cities but with internet the things can be different. In the city where I live now the saleswoman at Toys'R'us told me that Hero-Quest is selling very well but I'm afraid I'm the only one in whole who's bought D&D 5e or World of Darkness 20 Anniversary. When I was a teenage I could buy some comics in the town where I lived but now there is only one stationery store. Where I live now, the comic book store closed due to retirement. I can't buy physical books now.

I mean thanks internet WotC and other publishers can sell digital content where physical titles can arrive. I guess it happens the same with videogames.

* Hasbro earned a lot of money with the reboot of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic" but not thaks the sales of the toys but other products. Today Transformer franchise is live again but you don't see too many action figures in the toy shops. The main incomes are from other sources.

 

[Blue]

First, calm down. If you’re demanding that people “admit” things, you are in an adversarial position which cannot possibly end the way you hope it will.

Sorry, you're right. When people post after post dance around a question, changing the topic each time to dodge answering a question, it just gets me hot under the collar. Better to block him as someone I don't feel is speaking in good faith then to continue in public.

 

[ART!]

I’d be concerned that over time this changes the game in ways that make it less viable to play without digital tools. So that rather than digital tools supplementing a primarily analogue experience (which I’m fine with) they begin to become part of the core experience itself.

Yeah - that is not a game I want to play.

I don’t see any evidence that digital development and expansion is weakening the physical asset. In fact I think it’s the opposite.

When digital comic books first became viable everyone in the print comics biz was worried it would be the end of comics. Instead, the presence of digital comics made more people aware of comics in general, or that comics were "still a thing".

(I used to work in a comic book store back before digital comics, and would regularly get folks wandering in and saying "I read comics when I was a kid but didn't know they werte still around". I bet this happens a lot less now.)

Oddly, I almost prefer to read comic books in digital form, on my tablet - especially if they're comics made after about 1985. At that point, print technology was such that comics were printed on better paper, and so the digital versions look more like the original comics. Earlier than 1985 the paper was cheaper, yellower, and artists drew and colored with that in mind. So I prefer reading older comics in their original form.

My only concern with the digital tools is that I'm a maximalist for homebrew when it comes to D&D; any default tool that isn't easily amenable to manual editing of the available options isn't something I want to use in my game.

I want tables that are excited to look at new options from the book I just got on Kickstarter, not ones that say "But how do I select that option on my electronic character builder?"

Yeah, the digital tools are convenient until you realize all the things they can't do, and that's when you realize the tools are training us to adapt how we play to how the tools work.

 

[TheSword]

Yeah - that is not a game I want to play.

When digital comic books first became viable everyone in the print comics biz was worried it would be the end of comics. Instead, the presence of digital comics made more people aware of comics in general, or that comics were "still a thing".

(I used to work in a comic book store back before digital comics, and would regularly get folks wandering in and saying "I read comics when I was a kid but didn't know they werte still around". I bet this happens a lot less now.)

Oddly, I almost prefer to read comic books in digital form, on my tablet - especially if they're comics made after about 1985. At that point, print technology was such that comics were printed on better paper, and so the digital versions look more like the original comics. Earlier than 1985 the paper was cheaper, yellower, and artists drew and colored with that in mind. So I prefer reading older comics in their original form.


Yeah, the digital tools are convenient until you realize all the things they can't do, and that's when you realize the tools are training us to adapt how we play to how the tools work.

A rising tide lifts all ships.

I do use both, I like to have the adventure in physical format but rules available digitally. Mainly so I can use search functions.

 

[Dire Bare]

Sorry, you're right. When people post after post dance around a question, changing the topic each time to dodge answering a question, it just gets me hot under the collar. Better to block him as someone I don't feel is speaking in good faith then to continue in public.

Well, glad you took the advice to heart.

Politics, amirite? Wait, we're talking opinions on games . . . .

 

[ART!]

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.

I don't see how using Do Not Disturb mode is excercising willpower. Is it the willpower to turn it on? It has to be because after turning it on there's no willpower involved - the DND mode is doing it for you. Unless the willpower is also in resisting the urge to turn it off?

Regardless, saying it's a matter of willpower makes it sound reductive and judgmental - like not using DND mode or not resisting the urge to check your phone is a character flaw.