WotC D&D Gets A New Division At Hasbro

Mike Myler · Feb 25, 2021

Reynard · Feb 25, 2021

Scott Christian said:
Those are all good questions. One a lot of businesses are actually asking: Zoom, Home Depot, Amazon?

They are all asking and trying to predict what will happen once things "go back to normal." For D&D, it will be especially interesting. There was a chart someone put up a while ago about the increase in sales and time for Roll20.

There is no doubt some people will have fallen in love with D&D and will continue to play. Similarly there will surely be some drop off. I am actually more interested in how the pandemic has changed D&D -- how, where and why it is played. For most of D&D's history it has been an obsessive sort of hobby and I feel like there's a casualness to it now (I do not mean that as any sort of pejorative) it hasn't had mostly. Most of us (meaning GenX nerds) grew up playing like the Stranger Things kids: for hours and hours in the dark of the basement. I used to LOVE marathon sessions ans still miss them. I don't feel like that is a common way to play for the Millenial players and others that have recently discovered the hobby.

Iamoutofhere · Feb 25, 2021

I heard a rumour they were going to sell to Free League. (Well, I just made that up actually)

Campbell · Feb 25, 2021

Aldarc said:
I think that the second sentence is a clarification of the first. I would put a comma where the period is or a colon followed by i.e..

That's exactly what I meant to do.

Erdric Dragin · Feb 25, 2021

I wish they sold it off; to Paizo. Better left in the hands of actual gamers and not corporate stockholder butt-kissers.

Although I'm disappointed in Paizo with their PF2e debacle, and they forever lost my support. Now I've grown suspicious of them.

embee · Feb 25, 2021

Scott Christian said:
Those are all good questions. One a lot of businesses are actually asking: Zoom, Home Depot, Amazon?

They are all asking and trying to predict what will happen once things "go back to normal." For D&D, it will be especially interesting. There was a chart someone put up a while ago about the increase in sales and time for Roll20.

The real question is what will go back to pre-pandemic and what will adopt post-pandemic as the new normal.

There's potentially a massive economic shift coming due to shifts in the retail experience during the lockdown. It is unknown whether big box stores may just wind up as fulfillment centers as people grow used to curbside pickup. This radically changes the commercial real estate landscape, especially as shopping malls, which were overbuilt in the 90s and early 00s, continue to fail.

For a large chunk of the workplace, Zoom is the new normal. To the point that there is the beginnings of migration from cities to suburbs and exurbs as people realize that they can earn a New York City salary and live in Iowa. The NYT Real Estate section has documented this, while financial publications such as WSJ, Bloomberg, and Forbes, have written articles warning of the perils of trying to deduct one's new home office (don't do it!)

Many people have invested in the conversion to a Zoom office. So the question for D&D becomes how many will abandon VTT for in-person, how many will stick with VTT, and how many will go hybrid.

darjr · Feb 25, 2021

Also note the new WotC division is digital LICENSING. Which I think and hope puts an end to the rumors they are cloning or buying DnDBeyond.

but I know it won’t.

darjr · Feb 25, 2021

Here’s what I think. After COVID, D&D will boom even bigger.

people will be SICK of their computers and will crave non computer gaming when they turn to gaming.

even in bars and other gathering places.

MGibster · Feb 25, 2021

Erdric Dragin said:
I wish they sold it off; to Paizo. Better left in the hands of actual gamers and not corporate stockholder butt-kissers.

What do you think Paizo would have done differently and better than what WotC has done with D&D since 2014? Like I said, I've got my criticisms of D&D 5th edition, but overall they're doing a very good job with the game.

Mannahnin · Feb 25, 2021

Oofta said:
I guess that was kind of the question - magic has always been associated as face-to-face for me because you have to have the physical cards. I hazily remember there being an online version where you could "buy" digital cards.

In any case Hasbro doesn't release details, it was just curiosity if there was a thriving online MtG presence like there is for D&D.

Huge.

A couple of years ago they released a much more modern online version, Magic: The Gathering Arena, which has animated graphics, good sound effects, and a much quicker, more intuitive interface than their old Magic: The Gathering Online (sometimes jokingly referred to as Magic: The Spreadsheets for its antiquated 90s-style GUI).

Arena has been very successful. Technically Free to Play (as opposed to requiring a $10 signup and then buying online cards and event tickets for MTGO), you can grind for in-game Gold and Gems to buy packs, event entries, special card versions with different art, special card back images, etc., or you can just pay for packs, gems and gold, and people do.

They've been promoting Arena like a full-on ESport, with a pro league of 24 players on (IIRC) $75,000 annual contracts with required streaming deals. Amateurs and non-pro league professional streamers also constantly stream it on Twitch.

WotC D&D Gets A New Division At Hasbro

WSJ News Exclusive | Dungeons & Dragons Gets a Bigger Role at Hasbro

Mike Myler

Have you been to LevelUp5E.com yet?

Reynard

Legend

Iamoutofhere

Explorer

Campbell

Relaxed Intensity

Erdric Dragin

Adventurer

embee

Lawyer by day. Rules lawyer by night.

darjr

I crit!

darjr

I crit!

MGibster

Legend

Mannahnin

Scion of Murgen (He/Him)

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