WotC Hasbo Praises D&D Revenue Growth

[Parmandur]

I keep seeing this claim pop up in the forums. Is there some basis--a statement from Wizards or Hasbro or Crawford or somebody--for believing this to be the case?

It seems like a very weird strategy, given the success of tabletop 5E (and the previous failure of 4E, which was explicitly designed per Ryan Dancey to be a launch point for digital offerings). Based on what we've seen thus far, it looks as if their strategy is to generate spinoffs of all kinds from the tabletop game--TV shows, movies, Magic sets, novels, video games--and see what sticks. Video games are just one piece of that. But maybe there was an announcement that I missed?

The CEO sounds very excited about the merchandise for the upcoming movie: we're going to be drowning in the stuff if Hasbro gets their way.

Truly, this is a Golden Age.

 

[darjr]

There last two quarterly calls show that the RPG made over 100 million in 2020.

The movie biz lost tens millions, even after selling off the music assets. The movie biz also includes all branded movies/tv shows/streaming elements, not just D&D

WotC made that. I think that includes licensing and digital and Magic.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

My sources are theses, and others I read some time but I can't find now.

Wizards of the Coast: The future of D&D is digital

A new Dungeons & Dragons computer game every year for the next seven years.

www.geeknative.com

Wizards of the Coast: The future of D&D is digital​

Video games are "core to the future of Dungeons & Dragons"

The popularity of Dungeons & Dragons is unlikely to be news to members of the games industry. Aside from the fact that …

www.gamesindustry.biz

Video games are "core to the future of Dungeons & Dragons​

WotC Says ‘The Future Of D&D Is Video Games’

Source: WotC Says 'The Future Of D&D Is Video Games' - Bell of Lost Souls

Wizards of the Coast is Now a Division of Hasbro, Will Lead Digital Licensing Initiatives

The new division will be powered by tabletop innovation, digital versions of Magic and D&D, new IP, new sales channels, and digital licensing.

www.hipstersofthecoast.com

Wizards of the Coast is Now a Division of Hasbro, Will Lead Digital Licensing Initiatives​

Hasbro Planning Big Digital Push For D&D And Magic In 2020

Hasbro has big plans for Magic: The Gathering and D&D for 2020, especially in the digital realm.

www.thegamer.com

Hasbro Planning Big Digital Push For D&D And Magic In 2020​

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Edited to add this:

D&D: Digital Roleplaying Is In The Cards After WotC Leads Hasbro Stock Surge

In a quarterly earnings call, Hasbro revealed that WotC is leading the way for all things digital, including a new digital roleplaying initiative for D&D.

www.belloflostsouls.net

D&D: Digital Roleplaying Is In The Cards After WotC Leads Hasbro Stock Surge

 

[Deset Gled]

I keep seeing this claim pop up in the forums. Is there some basis--a statement from Wizards or Hasbro or Crawford or somebody--for believing this to be the case?

It seems like a very weird strategy, given the success of tabletop 5E (and the previous failure of 4E, which was explicitly designed per Ryan Dancey to be a launch point for digital offerings). Based on what we've seen thus far, it looks as if their strategy is to generate spinoffs of all kinds from the tabletop game--TV shows, movies, Magic sets, novels, video games--and see what sticks. Video games are just one piece of that. But maybe there was an announcement that I missed?

I could be wrong about this, but I think "digital market" and "videogames" are not the same thing to WotC. Well, there's obviously some overlap. But digital content for D&D includes all the PDF stuff, VTT content, etc. I think a lot of news sites conflate the two things, so it looks like every "digital content" announcement becomes a "video game" news story, even when it's not. So far WotC has also done a lot of work making sure digital D&D is mostly backwards compatible with the analog pen-and-paper play. I think that's been the source of a lot of the success, and it doesn't happen accidentally.

Also, the "spinnoff" part has always been the strategy. From the earliest days of TSR, Gary Gygax himself spent years focused on it. And remember, this is Hasbro we're talking about.

 

[bedir than]

Digital does not equal movies and streaming

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I guess we could agree the digital market doesn't mean only videogames, or PDFs but also other products.

Now I am wondering about intercompany crossover products. Do you remember the future Magic: the Gathering/Beyond Universe? With Lords of the Rings and Warhammer 40.000, or M:tG cards about Walking Dead and Godzilla (Toho kaiju universe), or the boxes of D&D: Rick & Morty and Stranger Things. Hasbro would dare to publish some crossover with D&D, and I don't mean only transformers or Gamma World(TTRPG) but other franchises as Fortnite or Disney. I know it sounds like a totally crazy idea, but whe should have a open-mind about this possibility. For example characters from a sitcom playing a Dragonlance game with some "non-canon" changes, for example Tass is a female kender and not too stupidly daredevil and Riverwind as a barbarian. A jedi academy in Spelljammer? Yes, and even an affectionate parody with the characters from the last cinematographic trilogy. Or famous videogames franchises. Why? For collectors who aren't roleplayers. Hasbro could sells action-figures of Ravenloft version of Resident Evil characters, heroes and monsters, or figures of a Kara-Tur-Capcom's Street Fighter crossover.

 

[Ancalagon]

These have all said "record growth over last quarter/year etc." in every interview, earnings report, and chart since 2014 or so.

It's super awesome, and I'm really glad that the hobby is growing so fast and so constantly.

That said, it does make these semi-regular industry newsbites a bit samey!

if this keeps up, soon 700% of the earth's population will be playing D&D

 

[Dausuul]

My sources are theses, and others I read some time but I can't find now.

That would be what I was looking for, thank you! (Specifically this article; the president of Wizards saying "We see video games as core to the future of D&D" is fairly conclusive.)

All I can say is... I sure hope the tabletop D&D business does not end up depending on WotC's success in the video game market. That is a hyper-competitive space, and technology has always been a glaring weakness for Wizards.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Well, the last survey had a video about a VTT for D&D, so it seems pretty clear that's where they want to go when they are talking about taking D&D digitally.

 

[darjr]

if this keeps up, soon 700% of the earth's population will be playing D&D

I just played two characters. I dunno if I can handle more…