D&D General No, Hasbro Is Not Selling D&D

Might be negotiating video gaming licenses, but is not selling D&D to Chinese company Tencent.

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I wasn't going to comment on this rumour in article form--despite a 20-page-and-counting thread about it--but it seems some clarification is needed as it's all over social media and the usual click-bait YouTube channels.

First off, Dungeons & Dragons is not being sold. That's the short version.

WotC, including D&D, is Hasbro's most profitable division and, as many put it, it's 'golden goose'. Despite an article on Pandaily being entitled "Hasbro Seeks to Sell IP “DND” and Has Had Preliminary Contact with Tencent"--and much of which is a close copy of a recent YouTube video rumour--buried halfway down the article is the important paragraph:

A Tencent IEG (Interactive Entertainment Group) insider revealed that Tencent, represented by its overseas business department IEG Global, is in negotiations with the aim of acquiring a series of rights including the adaptation rights for electronic games such as DND.

That means they wish to license the D&D IP to make video games. WotC licenses the D&D IP all the time--that's why you see all those D&D lunchboxes and plushies and t-shirts and miniatures and foam dragon heads and, indeed, movies and video games. Licensing an IP is not buying an IP. Modiphius is licensing the Star Trek IP for their TTRPG; Modiphius hasn't bought Star Trek. I published the Judge Dredd TTRPG for a couple of years, but I didn't own the Judge Dredd IP.

Tencent, incidentally, owns 30% of Larian Studios, who made the recent Baldur's Gate 3 video game--under license, of course (Larian didn't buy D&D either). Tencent is a massive Chinese company known for venture capital, social media, mobile games, internet services, and more, and is one of the world's largest companies. Tencent Games is a division of the company. It has stakes in a lot of companies.

So what does WotC have to say? "We are not looking to sell our D&D IP". The following statement was sent to outlets who reached out for clarification:

We regularly talk to Tencent and enjoy multiple partnerships with them across a number of our IPs. We don't make a habit of commenting on internet rumors, but to be clear: we are not looking to sell our D&D IP. We will keep talking to partners about how we bring the best digital experiences to our fans. We won't comment any further on speculation or rumors about potential M&A or licensing deals."

So, to be clear, Hasbro is not selling D&D to a Chinese company. They are in--as always--talks to license their IP to various companies for various purposes, including electronic games, movies, and lunchboxes.
 

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Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero
YouTube is terrible, people need to be more incredulous about poorly sourced news articles (written by ai?!), and we all need to chill out a bit when people question if the whole story is BS.
Where is this "AI" argument coming from?

PanDaily is not some new website that just popped out of the ether. It's a regular source for smartphone news, for instance. It's an Asian tech website that's written by people who don't seem to speak English as their first language and who don't publish according to American journalism standards.
 

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MoonSong

Rules-lawyering drama queen but not a munchkin
I'm just saying:
If you tell me you got your "news" from YouTube, I'm going to make some assumptions about you and they won't be flattering.
Maybe you should reconsider. I follow some journalists that have to be on YT because they were unfairly kicked out of the radio and tv stations they used to work at. (The reasons why are outside the site's scope, but the whole situation isn't pretty)
 

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero
Maybe you should reconsider. I follow some journalists that have to be on YT because they were unfairly kicked out of the radio and tv stations they used to work at. (The reasons why are outside the site's scope, but the whole situation isn't pretty)
If they've been blackballed by the entire industry, I suspect there's more to the story than they're admitting to.
 

GreyLord

Legend
Of the companies that could actually afford to purchase the D&D IP, if one of those companies were to do so, I suspect those that have gripes with Wizards & Hasbro stewardship would be...further disappointed in the results.

Tencent could also probably afford it.

That's WITH an insane pricetag. D&D is NOT for sale, currently, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't sell with the right motivation. If they offered something like 100X what D&D is worth...well...that would be extremely tempting perhaps to some.

Not that they will or are, but surprises sometimes happen.
 

Hussar

Legend
Maybe you should reconsider. I follow some journalists that have to be on YT because they were unfairly kicked out of the radio and tv stations they used to work at. (The reasons why are outside the site's scope, but the whole situation isn't pretty)
Mmmm, nah. Looking to Youtube for actual news, outside of some very specific circumstances, is not filling me with confidence.

See, when a Youtuber blathers on about nonsense, citing "news" with zero support, zero fact checking and zero accountability, nothing happens. When a network journalist does the same thing, they lose their job. So, yeah, I'm with @CleverNickName on this one.
 

Vaalingrade

Legend
I'm just saying:
If you tell me you got your "news" from YouTube, I'm going to make some assumptions about you and they won't be flattering.
Literally my local television news station puts segments on Youtube.

There's a strip along the landing page that features television news reports from around the country.

Just because someone on the site said something we don't like about our favorite pretend game doesn't justify this kind of talk, honestly.
 

Hussar

Legend
Literally my local television news station puts segments on Youtube.

There's a strip along the landing page that features television news reports from around the country.

Just because someone on the site said something we don't like about our favorite pretend game doesn't justify this kind of talk, honestly.
Slight difference though. Even though those clips are placed on Youtube, that television station is still liable for mistakes and responsible for misinformation to a degree that some guy in his home studio isn't.
 

Literally my local television news station puts segments on Youtube.

This. I have watched my local TV news on YouTube for years. I also use it to watch things like the BBC and the NTSB. CNN, Forbes, Bloomberg, and lots of other mainstream outlets have channels.

The important thing to remember is that YouTube is an aggregator. It would be odd if someone said they got news exclusively from there. But IMNSHO it would be a lot less scary than people who only trust news from one specific cable TV channel.
 

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