D&D 5E Rumor: Hasbro is "prepping" to sell Wizards of the Coast in 2021.

[darjr]

Ha corpsetakers lack of credibility knows no bounds!

 

[Zardnaar]

People do understand that WotC makes Magic: The Gathering, right? One of the biggest cash cows in the games industry? Hazbro would be absolutely insane to give that up for any amount of money.

Not really look at Star Wars, they paid 4 billion for it and made that all back with the Force Awakens.

If someone wanted to wave a large enough amount of dosh around everything is for sale generally with the exception perhaps of national treasures (Mona Lisa, US constitution etc).

 

[Charlaquin]

Not really look at Star Wars, they paid 4 billion for it and made that all back with the Force Awakens.

Hazbro is George Lucas in this analogy, and the speed with which they recouped that cost is evidence that he was insane to sell it. Of course, in Lucas’ case it was a good deal because he was sick of all the harassment from the fandom and wasn’t going to make any more Star Wars movies anyway. He was leaving the money on the table, so he might as well take the deal. But there is no indication that Hazbro was planning to kill MtG.

If someone wanted to wave a large enough amount of dosh around everything is for sale generally with the exception perhaps of national treasures (Mona Lisa, US constitution etc).

Sure, everything is for sale, but with Intellectual properties that are still actively making you truckloads of money a year, it’s insane to sell them for any fixed dollar value, because the IP will make you back that value and more.

 

[Zardnaar]

Hazbro is George Lucas in this analogy, and the speed with which they recouped that cost is evidence that he was insane to sell it. Of course, in Lucas’ case it was a good deal because he was sick of all the harassment from the fandom and wasn’t going to make any more Star Wars movies anyway. He was leaving the money on the table, so he might as well take the deal. But there is no indication that Hazbro was planning to kill MtG.


Sure, everything is for sale, but with Intellectual properties that are still actively making you truckloads of money a year, it’s insane to sell them for any fixed dollar value, because the IP will make you back that value and more.

Depends though generally you sell a business for X2-X5 of its yearly income.

Sometimes you can't monetize it properly or don't want to (Lucas is old now a new trilogy would take 10 years). Or you have to sell TSR in 1997 to WotC). Or you can use that money selling some properties to fund something else that hopefully makes you more money. Selling D&D for example to fund a movie or triple AAA video game might cost 100-200 million dollars, how much is D&D worth? They got it for around 27 million in 1997 and its doing well so you would around double that number at least ( would have been worth less say 7 years ago). D&D is probably worth something like 50-100 million range. Back then the novel range was worth more than the RPG and now the novel range is dead.

Something like Grand Theft Auto V make 4-6 million dollars per day.

I don't think D&D is popular enough to reach that kind of level via a game or movie. Everyone gets excited about WotC plans for a movie or new game, I don't think one will happen anytime soon that will do much of anything.

 

[Corpsetaker]

Ha corpsetakers lack of credibility knows no bounds!

I didn't write this piece so I guess your lack of, well I don't have to spell it out for you, knows no bounds.

 

[Charlaquin]

Depends though generally you sell a business for X2-X5 of its yearly income.

Sometimes you can't monetize it properly or don't want to (Lucas is old now a new trilogy would take 10 years). Or you have to sell TSR in 1997 to WotC). Or you can use that money selling some properties to fund something else that hopefully makes you more money. Selling D&D for example to fund a movie or triple AAA video game might cost 100-200 million dollars, how much is D&D worth? They got it for around 27 million in 1997 and its doing well so you would around double that number at least ( would have been worth less say 7 years ago). D&D is probably worth something like 50-100 million range. Back then the novel range was worth more than the RPG and now the novel range is dead.

Something like Grand Theft Auto V make 4-6 million dollars per day.

I don't think D&D is popular enough to reach that kind of level via a game or movie. Everyone gets excited about WotC plans for a movie or new game, I don't think one will happen anytime soon that will do much of anything.

Hazbro selling D&D wouldn’t surprise me. I mean, a little, cause it’s hot right now, but it wouldn’t be that surprising. But this alleged “rumor” isn’t about selling D&D, it’s about selling Wizards of the Coast. That would mean selling D&D, Kaijudo, all of the Avalon Hill properties, and most importantly Magic: the Gathering, which is one of Hazbro’s most profitable properties, bringing in an estimated 250 million a year (they haven’t released exact figures, obviously). That’s an insane thing to do.

 

[Zardnaar]

Hazbro selling D&D wouldn’t surprise me. I mean, a little, cause it’s hot right now, but it wouldn’t be that surprising. But this alleged “rumor” isn’t about selling D&D, it’s about selling Wizards of the Coast. That would mean selling D&D, Kaijudo, all of the Avalon Hill properties, and most importantly Magic: the Gathering, which is one of Hazbro’s most profitable properties, bringing in an estimated 250 million a year (they haven’t released exact figures, obviously). That’s an insane thing to do.

Not really if they get say a billion+ for it. Future income is not guaranteed a billion dollars (or 2 billion) upfront or whatever the number is. There is also the profit so magic might bring in 250 million a year but how much of that is profit?

They bought WotC for the pokemon craze in the late 90's. I don't see them selling Magic either but sometimes companies get into trouble or they get the to good to be true type offers and sell up/merge etc. If Disney for example come knocking with a few hundred million/billion people will at least listen.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Fake news? That's too bad. I was going to make a bid.

 

[gyor]

Depends though generally you sell a business for X2-X5 of its yearly income.

Sometimes you can't monetize it properly or don't want to (Lucas is old now a new trilogy would take 10 years). Or you have to sell TSR in 1997 to WotC). Or you can use that money selling some properties to fund something else that hopefully makes you more money. Selling D&D for example to fund a movie or triple AAA video game might cost 100-200 million dollars, how much is D&D worth? They got it for around 27 million in 1997 and its doing well so you would around double that number at least ( would have been worth less say 7 years ago). D&D is probably worth something like 50-100 million range. Back then the novel range was worth more than the RPG and now the novel range is dead.

Something like Grand Theft Auto V make 4-6 million dollars per day.

I don't think D&D is popular enough to reach that kind of level via a game or movie. Everyone gets excited about WotC plans for a movie or new game, I don't think one will happen anytime soon that will do much of anything.

This novel line is only dead because they killed it, they wanted to externalized it, they got too greedy and so no one took the bait and they had dumped the staff for novels like editors, so they killed the novel line, and unforgivable offence.

 

[Mistwell]

Well even though the rumor is baloney, it might be fun to speculate about who could afford it, and might want to.

My #1 guess would be Asmodée Éditions. That's a French company (that once long ago was known for In Nomine RPG) that's become huge in the industry and is on an acquisition binge right now. They now own Days of Wonder, Fantasy Flight Games, all English language rights to all Catan games (bought from Mayfair), the games Ticket to Ride, Dixit, Citadels, Small World, Mysterium, and 7 Wonders, the companies Z-Man Games, Plaid Hat Games, and Filosophia, German board game publisher Heidelberger Spieleverlag, the company Edge Entertainment, the rights to publish in French the WizKids and Pokémon lines of games, and of course their own games in French like Diplomacy and Liar's Dice. And they also have a digital games branch of the company which mostly runs Fantasy Flight stuff and Days of Wonder stuff at the moment.

Actually I left some stuff out. Here this lovely graph outlines it better than I did:

That is almost certainly a company that wants to get their hands of Magic The Gathering.