Chris Cocks says it makes sense to move D&D to a "live service" model, but Hasbro will always make physical books

Chris Cocks isn't shy about plans to move Dungeons & Dragons to a more live service model of gaming. In a recent interview with GamesRadar, Cocks explicitly said that "it makes sense" for players to shift their mindset towards a live service due to the high amount of players using digital services, but assured the interviewer that books will still be produced by Hasbro. When asked if Wizards was moving away from books in favor of a more piecemeal release schedule, following the announcement of D&D Beyond's new Drops service. "Books will always be an important part of D&D," Cocks said. "It will always be kind of like a special totem that you can collect. I have a big bookshelf of D&D books myself."

"But we see what's happening – almost everyone who plays D&D uses D&D Beyond, like a super high percentage uses it," Cocks continued. "A very high percentage use Foundry VTT or Roll20, and so it just makes sense that you should start to migrate your thinking about the way you play to more of a live service where you don't have to wait 18 months for us to build a book. We can start to release components or aspects of that book over time, and you don't have to buy everything all at once. You can buy chapters or segments of it over time. That makes a ton of sense to me. That said we will still have big moments. We will still have like, 'hey, ta da, here's a huge campaign.' You can expect there'll be more around that, both from us and from all the creators in the world that can leverage a platform like D&D Beyond to share their content as well."

Broadly speaking, Dungeons & Dragons has always been a "live service" game, as the game's core business model involves continuously releasing new content in the form of new rulebooks or campaigns. However, it seems that Cocks is principally interested in shifting this model around more frequent releases. We'll note that the business model suggested by Cocks was already rolled out in a manner of speaking. The Dhampir species rules were released as a "digital DLC" for D&D Beyond subscribers who digitally ordered a Forgotten Realms book bundle, but a physical version of the rules are being released via the upcoming Ravenloft: The Horrors Within book. However, a la carte purchases were removed from D&D Beyond several years ago in order to force users to purchase entire books instead.

 

[Dire Bare]

Again, forgive my ignorance, but can you go directly into the compendium as a user, or do you have to visit the main page with ads before accessing your content? I've seen a few discussion threads complaining about the ads, but some of them are old and maybe they've changed it so it isn't an issue.

If you bookmark the various pages on DDB (compendium, character builder, etc), you don't have to start on the main page.

And even on the main page, subscriber or not, there are no ads. Links to articles and products that are a part of DDB, and that I suppose some would see as ads . . . but there are no ads.

 

[Dire Bare]

Thanks for responding. As a test, I went into the Basic Rules compendium and looked up "Dragonborn," which has a direct link. At the top of the page there's a message that says, "Explore the Northlands Bundle from Kobold Press" with a link (and a "Dismiss" button). So you don't see that link/ad if you're a registered user with an account, or if you're accessing a book you paid for?

You'll still see those even as a subscriber until you click "dismiss". I don't consider that an "ad" . . . . not in the sense of banner and side ads that infest many webpages.

 

[Dire Bare]

when you pay for a subscription

Yup. Really don't see a problem with that.

I can share my PDFs too . . . without any sort of subscription . . . but not legally.

 

[Dire Bare]

that it isn’t free, like the post I replied to made it sound

But didn't actually claim. Sheesh.

 

[Dire Bare]

Not yet. But part one of enshittification is getting people dependant on a product or service and slowly reducing the benefit from the product or service. Netflix is a good example of this.

Yes, not yet.

I'll worry about the en****ification of DDB when it actually happens.

 

[Dire Bare]

My guess is that pdfs are even easier to share than books. And sharing is something WoTC would rather people not do.

WotC is fine with a degree of sharing, as this is something you can do as a subscriber on DDB. Why shouldn't WotC get a cut? Why should everybody get freely shared digital books?

Yes, WotC would prefer we not pirate their books. Makes sense to me.

 

[Lazybones]

You'll still see those even as a subscriber until you click "dismiss". I don't consider that an "ad" . . . . not in the sense of banner and side ads that infest many webpages.

I just want to clarify that these minor ads aren't a dealbreaker for me; I haven't bothered with DDB mostly because I'm already heavily invested in Fantasy Grounds (which also puts site ads on its bootup screen). I don't like subscription services in general, but I have no problem with folks using and enjoying the service. Most of the players in my in-person game use DDB on their laptops/tablets/phones and I haven't heard any complaints from them about it.

 

[mamba]

Yup. Really don't see a problem with that.

I did not say there is one, but if your counterargument to WotC not liking you to share your printed books is that you can share them on DDB, then you imply that sharing on DDB is free as well, as that is what your counter hinges on to actually be an argument rather than random word association

 

[mamba]

Yes, WotC would prefer we not pirate their books. Makes sense to me.

sharing a book is not piracy, copying is

 

[Clint_L]

Yes, not yet.

I'll worry about the en****ification of DDB when it actually happens.

So much this. It's not like I've never cancelled a subscription before. Right now, DDB is easily the best value for dollar in my entertainment budget. I'm not losing sleep over it. In fact, it just keeps adding more value - it has significantly more features now, at the same price, compared to when I started subscribing years ago, long before WotC purchased it.

I bought a physical copy of the MM, as well - it's a book I love to just sit and look at. Much like with graphic novels, I still prefer physical editions of books that are primarily illustrated. And ones that are for collector purposes, like 50th Anniversary OD&D book. I'm hoping they do a similar edition for 1e's anniversary.