WotC Hasbro's CEO Reports OGL-Related D&D Beyond Cancellations Had Minimal Impact

Hasbro held a quarterly earnings call recently in which CEO Chris Cocks (who formerly ran WotC before being promoted) indicated that the OGL controversy had a "comparatively minor" impact on D&D's revenue due to D&D Beyond subscription cancellations. He also noted that D&D grew by 20% in 2022 (Magic: the Gathering revenues grew by an astonishing 40% in Quarter 4!)

WotC as a whole was up 22% in Q4 2022.

Lastly, on D&D, we misfired on updating our Open Gaming License, a key vehicle for creators to share or commercialize their D&D inspired content. Our best practice is to work collaboratively with our community, gather feedback, and build experiences that inspire players and creators alike - it's how we make our games among the best in the industry. We have since course corrected and are delivering a strong outcome for the community and game.

 

[bedir than]

What level of hurt though?

A lot of companies try to calculate a "threshold of pain" they can inflict upon their customers before the customer begins pushing back. It starts with elasticity of demand, and the availability of substitutes, and an "impact analysis".

Enough hurt that their key product is now available for free in the most open license available.

 

[mamba]

I think the problem is that people use incomplete information to guess what the truth is. I think we should all admit, that we still not know what exactly went on behint the curtains.

I agree, we have incomplete information, that is why there is speculation. Speculating about things you do not know / understand is as old as mankind

 

[mamba]

My interpretation, based on many of the comments I've read, is that most people are easing up on wotc and giving them the benefit of the doubt (now that those people have got what they want ie. OGL 1.0a left alone and the 5.1 SRD put into CC), at a time in which I believe wotc are still being very disingenuous towards the community (in my opinion to the point of it being lying) and in doing so wotc is treating the community with disdain.

I believe most people wanted the OGL 1.0a to not be revoked, that was the goal of the boycott and we got that, so a further boycott lost its cause.
If a boycott achieved its goal, the boycott ends. That does make sense to me.

I am disappointed though at how quickly that seems to have happened because I don't believe wotc will have really learned its lesson (so to speak), and I believe that wotc will try something like this again in the future (albeit it will be at least a couple of years away)

I believe they have learned a lesson, which one remains to be seen. I also believe that if they try something this stupid again, they will likely get a similar reaction.

I believe the hobby is less dependent on WotC now, as the SRD is under CC and 5e ‘clones’ were announced.

I thought my statement about them trying to take over the hobby was also self-evident given the uproar their actions in January caused, but it's now apparent I was wrong to think that - or at least two or three people don't think it was self-evident ).

I am not sure there is much to take over, and nothing that justifies this approach. I never did see this as the reason for WotC’s moves, Kyle’s explanation is a lot more plausible to me

 

[Clint_L]

It will be looked as such because Hasbro destroyed a lot of trust with their actions and a lot of people see their backtracking as being in response to the backlash and not an honest judgement on their part. It's just going to take a lot of time to repair that sort of trust.

There's going to be ill-intent for a time until they regain people's trust. People will suspect they are up to something because, as we have been told throughout this thread, they are trying to make a lot of money. Given how they viewed they could make money previously, people probably think that they may have found some sort of workaround to finally do what they tried before.

Instead of trying to force trust back into the relationship, it'd be better to just let Wizards do the long, hard work of actually earning it again.

So they are damned if they do, damned if they don't? Hmmm...I don't see a lot of incentive for them to do anything, then. Once again, that suggests they should just leave the OGL alone, as we asked.

Also, I just do not understand describing the relationship between WotC and players in personal terms. For me, it is purely transactional. I'm not dating them. I don't care about their motives. I care about what they actually do or don't do.

 

[mamba]

I have merely expressed that simply leaving the OGL untouched, leaves it open for them to try to de-authorise it in future - something they obviously believe they a) have a right to do, and b) can do so from a legal standpoint

I am not sure how much they actually believed that. This was never a done deal, it was not even probable, at best it was possible.

As far as I am concerned they tried to scare everyone away and hoped to never have to go to court over it, because their position was pathetically weak

 

[Justice and Rule]

So they are damned if they do, damned if they don't? Hmmm...I don't see a lot of incentive for them to do anything, then. Once again, that suggests they should just leave the OGL alone, as we asked.

No, they are not "damned if they do, damned if they don't". There is just no instantly resetting the relationship between Wizards and the community. When you pull big, destructive moves, people remember it and don't like you. It takes time to actually repair that community relationship to the point they don't instantly assume that your good action is not just a ploy and stalking horse for a bad one.

Also, I just do not understand describing the relationship between WotC and players in personal terms. For me, it is purely transactional. I'm not dating them. I don't care about their motives. I care about what they actually do or don't do.

It's not in personal terms, just using the term "trust" doesn't mean the same as with a family member or a friend or even a co-worker. Typically when people talk about "trusting" a company, it's largely to 1) Do the work they desire done and 2) To not do things that would make me feel bad/embarrassed about giving you money. I suppose you don't understand the second part? But for a lot of people that is a dealbreaker and what they mean about "community trust" and such.

 

[cranberry]

Enough hurt that their key product is now available for free in the most open license available.

Well, time will tell if WoTC has seen the light and changed it's ways.

 

[Bill Zebub]

This has been nagging at me and I wanted to respond:

Because incompetence and/or stupidity* alone are sufficient to explain what happened, but malice and/or evil alone are not. Occam's Razor and all.

*Stupidity in the sense that they did something stupid. I'm not accusing the Hasbro/WotC people of being stupid.

In the corporate world, they are often hand-in-hand.

I think that's pretty naive and shows zero actual familiarity with "the corporate world," other than perhaps through interactions with Spirit Airlines' automated customer support. (From which it would be completely reasonable to conclude some sort of formal affiliation with Vecna.)

 

[BlueFin]

I believe they have learned a lesson, which one remains to be seen. I also believe that if they try something this stupid again, they will likely get a similar reaction.

This is the thinking that I am flummoxed by, and I don’t mean that disrespectfully in any way. But I am flummoxed precisely because the events in January WAS them doing it again!

 

[Bill Zebub]

This is the thinking that I am flummoxed by, and I don’t mean that disrespectfully in any way. But I am flummoxed precisely because the events in January WAS them doing it again!

Yes, they will undoubtedly try to figure out other ways to get a larger share of the money being made off of their IP, while also trying to ensure that IP is not used in ways that damage the brand. And sometimes those attempts will backfire, because running a business in which the distinction between "customer" and "fan" has become blurry has both advantages and disadvantages.