D&D (2024) Speculation Welcome: What's Next for D&D?

[Remathilis]

Sorry, I must've been in a hurry and didn't come back to it.

In the video, Professor DM states that his sources tell him that WotC/Hasbro has laid off the entirety of the book production team. (Not the design staff - those responsible for the printing and distribution of the physical product.) In the video he quotes job postings for digital product employees, ones with experience with subscription services, etc., as being further evidence that WotC is moving away from physical books.
He predicts that this will lead to D&D physical books becoming "for collectors" like how vinyl collectors buy records but most other consumers stream music nowadays.

I thought it was an interesting take about the future of the business. How about you?

Are his sources in the room with us now?

Exceptional claims require exceptional proof. It's not a secret WotC wants to move towards a larger digital footprint, but I can't imagine them moving away from paper. This reeks of the "WotC isn't supporting paper Magic" rumors. We knew about the last round is layoffs, so if this is new news, I would like some proof. Name names. Cite the Twitter and other SM posts of these fired people. Get some media to cover this.

Also, if the entire book production team is gone, I wonder who is going to get those "collector" books made?

I suspect another mea culpa video is in his future.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Speaking "objectively":

1e Golden Age
2e Silver Age
3e Bronze Age
4e Iron Age
5e Classical Age

Note that "Gold" and "Silver" correspond to the Stone Age, with its simpler lower-heat metallurgies and lesser frequency of conflict before the Neolithic Revolution when groups fought over "territory".

What comes after the Classical Age, is Post-Classical (either an intensification of Classical or a disruptive mass-migrating Dark Age), then Medieval, then Modern. I expect this Modern to be a seemless virtual reality D&D.

I'm not speaking objectively. 90s gaming was my favorite gaming.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I am sure you do. I am sure you are wrong though. 5e 2024 seems great so far.

True, in the sense that lots of folks who aren't WotC are making great stuff this year.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

True, in the sense that lots of folks who aren't WotC are making great stuff this year.

I am happy that you found your favourite company: notWotC.

I am happy for you. I am also happy for me. As everyone gets what they want and no single one company has to cater to all tastes. Don't we live in a great time?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

There is a reason that reputable news outlets only use anonymous sources under extraordinary circumstances.

"I have hot goss but don't want to get in trouble" is definitely not extraordinary circumstances, and granting these people anonymity makes it impossible to evaluate their claims or whether they're credible sources.

Better to not do this stuff at all, YouTubers.

 

[Retreater]

There is a reason that reputable news outlets only use anonymous sources under extraordinary circumstances.

"I have hot goss but don't want to get in trouble" is definitely not extraordinary circumstances, and granting these people anonymity makes it impossible to evaluate their claims or whether they're credible sources.

Better to not do this stuff at all, YouTubers.

Sometimes the reporting of the news can be news itself, maybe? I don't know if Professor DM has enough of a following that his reporting on something makes it a news topic?
But if we just want to say "clickbait video" and ignore it, that's fine with me. I just thought it would be interesting to discuss.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

My guess, with regard to laying off the book people is that Habro is centralising its print operations and WoTC will no longer manage their print functions inhouse but outsource to some corporate function.

 

[Remathilis]

I'm not speaking objectively. 90s gaming was my favorite gaming.

This reminds me that music peaked in 1984. Everything before it was build up, everything after is slow descent.

 

[Yaarel]

Sorry, I must've been in a hurry and didn't come back to it.

In the video, Professor DM states that his sources tell him that WotC/Hasbro has laid off the entirety of the book production team. (Not the design staff - those responsible for the printing and distribution of the physical product.) In the video he quotes job postings for digital product employees, ones with experience with subscription services, etc., as being further evidence that WotC is moving away from physical books.
He predicts that this will lead to D&D physical books becoming "for collectors" like how vinyl collectors buy records but most other consumers stream music nowadays.

I thought it was an interesting take about the future of the business. How about you?

I have physical books, but almost always use my digital books to quickly search and reference, or google to find specific content, like a spell or monster.

Also, it is easier to modify digital content and save it.

 

[Retreater]

I have physical books, but almost always use my digital books to quickly search and reference, or google to find specific content, like a spell or monster.

Also, it is easier to modify digital content and save it.

I'm somewhat blended too.
For in-person games, I really want physical copies at the table. (No one buys their own books, so we have to pass around my copies.)
For online games, I like having a physical book nearby, mostly because PDFs load very slowly and aren't a good format for reading (overall). If I'm running Pathfinder 2, I would use Archives of Nethys exclusively for looking up rules. The physical books just aren't great for finding information - especially if you have multiple sources. PDFs are also bad.
I don't use D&D Beyond. Even when I was running 5e regularly, I hated the UI.