WotC D&D Gets A New Division At Hasbro

Hasbro is reorganizing and giving tabletop gaming -- Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: the Gathering -- a higher priority.

According to the Wall Street Journal, WotC's revenue last year was $816 million (a 24% increase on 2019). Brian Goldner, Hasbro's Chief Executive, says WotC is predicted to double revenue from 2019 to 2023.

Hasbro is dividing into three 'units' -- Consumer Products (toys, classic board games); Entertainment (film, TV, licensing); and Wizards & Digital (WotC plus digital licensing).

Hasbro bought WotC in 1999 for about $325M.

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

Toy maker Hasbro is reorganizing to capitalize on a pandemic-fueled boom in old-school tabletop games, creating a separate division around the publisher of Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.

www.wsj.com

 

[darjr]

That's it, I'm out.

Rawr! I’m a monster!

 

[darjr]

I so loved that bit and the cartoons. I want moor.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

As long as there are no f*$%ing gnomes.

There gonna be so many gnomes!

 

[Orius]

D&D will go bankrupt in 2024 after WOTC fails to cash in on the massive earthquakes that will be triggered after the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts when the Rapture occurs because of the first contact with aliens from Proxima Centauri when the Moon Landing hoax is revealed after proof that the Earth is flat is stolen during the upcoming raid on Area 51.

Yes, but what I want to know is what will the reptilian run NWO Illuminati be doing during this?

 

[ccs]

Here's hoping that this means 6E is not on the horizon then.

Oh it's on the horizon.

 

[ccs]

If they do re-release the White Box, I hope they do what they did at the end of 3E and put out premium reprints of the other editions; I really regret not picking up the 3E premium reprints then. I was just exhausted by 3E at that point and didn't appreciate that I'd want the deeeeluxe versions of my shelves as a reference work today. (I did pick up the 1E reprints then, although I wish they'd put out a reprint of Fiend Folio as well.)

That was at/near the end of 4e.

 

[GreyLord]

I'm not sure today's audience really cares about that. The OSR folks picked that up a few years ago and largely saturated that market.

Are there a lot of 20-somethings pining for a little wooden box with the original booklets inside?

If they do re-release the White Box, I hope they do what they did at the end of 3E and put out premium reprints of the other editions; I really regret not picking up the 3E premium reprints then. I was just exhausted by 3E at that point and didn't appreciate that I'd want the deeeeluxe versions of my shelves as a reference work today. (I did pick up the 1E reprints then, although I wish they'd put out a reprint of Fiend Folio as well.)

Who knows what will be some of the cheaper 50th anniversary releases...

But probably in the works will be a collectible item (perhaps a collection of samples of editions or dice, or something else) that will cost several hundred dollars.

Just a hunch.

 

[GreyLord]

All the bars I've been to that have gaming night tend to focus on games other than RPGs. Granted, I have only been to a few, but I fail to see a bar that wants people at a table for four to six hours, especially if they don't drink. That was actually the common complaint with bar management at the place I used to frequent - gamers don't drink for four hours straight like regular patrons do.

But every place has a different take. Maybe just having butts in seats is an improvement for some.

You haven't met some of the gamers I have. Of course, with them, the games weren't in bars. Normally at a home so that when they got stupid drunk they could pass out and not have to worry about being at a bar or having to get home somehow safely.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Oh it's on the horizon.

Yeah if anything this makes it look even more solidly on the way to me. Just likely it'll be highly mechanically compatible with 5E material in the 1E/2E way. Editions tend to get faster and wilder towards the end - we saw this with all previous editions.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Yes, but what I want to know is what will the reptilian run NWO Illuminati be doing during this?

Obviously, playing the one game they like even more than D&D...