If a video game bumped sales by 16% then the optimal business strategy is to forget about tabletop and focus exclusively on video games.
WotC WotC in a small decline as revenue drops by 16% as Hasbro shares hit a new 52-week low
Ruin Explorer
Legend
Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but my impression was that the videogame did very poorly and thus didn't make expected profits (if it even made a profit at all).
Also, they can't do that, because they don't have a sufficient pipeline of videogame products. Development of an AAA videogame usually takes 3-5+ years, start to finish. Archetype Entertainment, for example, were founded by WotC in April 2019, and it's still not clear if they're even really in pre-production for their AAA CRPG. Toque managed push out Dark Alliance, which was labelled AAA, but looked like more of an AA-type product, and are now working on what is supposedly an actual AAA game, but we're likely looking at 3 years before that comes out.
Currently tabletop is making most of the money, and unless that changes your suggestion wouldn't make sense. I wouldn't be totally shocked if WotC gradually transitioned towards basically being a video game company, but it'll be extremely slow if it happens (like 10+ years from now).
EDIT - I also notice Archetype seem to be having some problems hiring staff.
They did a big hiring push several months ago, but on LinkedIn, they still only have 68 staff (most AAA devs have a dead minimum of 150-200, often much higher), and as one week ago, they've got an add up on LinkedIn and are trying to hire a lot of senior positions for a videogame - including Lead Level Designer (is it not open-world? THANK GOD!) and Lead Narrative Engineer. They've been trying to hire Lead Gameplay Engineer for much longer, too - it says for 1 months but I'm pretty sure it was up several months ago too (maybe they got someone and then got rid of them, not uncommon).
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"Hasbro cites that much of the drop is due to sizable delays to their Magic: the Gathering releases. Delays and other “supply chain challenges” hit pretty hard. And alongside that, bigger releases “and entertainment content” are scheduled for the fourth quarter as opposed to the third quarter."
www.belloflostsouls.net
D&D, Magic: The Gathering Face a $60m Revenue Drop in Q3
Hasbro's third quarter finances are in; both D&D and Magic: the Gathering face sizable dowturn in Q3 2022. But even so, Hasbro is hopeful.
www.belloflostsouls.net
GMforPowergamers
Legend
back a few years ago one of the late shows had a gag where they were selling hats that had a slogan on it... I think it might hate been a political joke. So the host was being interviewed about the weirdest way a gag went and he brought up the hats and how Jay Z had asked for one... so the host said make him buy it but know if he put it on in public they w ill sell out, and if his wife puts it on in public they are no longer a show they are hat manufactures... so yeah it may take a year or3 but i am sure that if the amount of profit was enough WotC would shift priorities...
darjr
I crit!
humble minion
Legend
These are year-to-date revenue figures for 2022. Dark Alliance was a 2021 release, so the majority of its sales would come under 2021 revenue (given the sort of reviews it got, it seems unlikely that it's still selling large numbers a year later due to word of mouth...).
What the numbers are saying is that D&D made less in 2022 than 2021 because there was no 2022 video game release (trash fire or not, if you release a video game in a popular property like D&D, then you will get revenue from it)
MockingBird
Hero
Don't really play MtG, I have some cards from like 8 yrs ago when Theros was happening. I still watch a few MtG YT videos. From what I can tell they really gave fans a good shafting with the 30th anniversary set. I've heard it labeled as 1000 dollars for fake magic cards lol. I don't know, I don't really dable in the game much.
The point on not buying much D&D up thread. Yeah I get it. I passed on RC and Strixhaven, those didn't really grab my attention. I have picked up a few of the older adventures I missed when they came out (Stormking, Out of the Abyss, and Waterdeep etc). I'm interested in DL though but I'm going to wait until I can page through it.
The point on not buying much D&D up thread. Yeah I get it. I passed on RC and Strixhaven, those didn't really grab my attention. I have picked up a few of the older adventures I missed when they came out (Stormking, Out of the Abyss, and Waterdeep etc). I'm interested in DL though but I'm going to wait until I can page through it.
Henadic Theologian
Legend
Except that hasn't happened, Table Top sales are up, it's D&D video game money that's down because no new D&D video games we're released, unlike last year.
Henadic Theologian
Legend
There should be a bump next year in video game revenue when BG3 enters full release.
the Jester
Legend
I think the 30th anniversary $1000 Magic offering was a real shot in the foot. I've also heard bad things about some other 30th anniversary MtG offering, but I haven't been a MtG guy in a loooong time, so I dunno.
I also think the treatment Spelljammer got, which I would generously describe as lacking and less generously describe as pretty anemic, was another big shot in the foot. On top of that, recent adventures have been pretty... thin- Radiant Citadel has a lot of "one and done" adventures that read to me like they don't really have a lot of challenge in them or meat on their bones- and the announcement of a quasi-new edition, along with playtest material that, so far at least, seems to poke the promise of backwards compatibility right in the eye while repeating a lot of the "let's get off the edition treadmill" talk that surrounded 5e while looking an awful lot like a new edition, seems like the kind of thing that would depress sales. But I don't know jack about marketing or sales, so hey.
I also think the treatment Spelljammer got, which I would generously describe as lacking and less generously describe as pretty anemic, was another big shot in the foot. On top of that, recent adventures have been pretty... thin- Radiant Citadel has a lot of "one and done" adventures that read to me like they don't really have a lot of challenge in them or meat on their bones- and the announcement of a quasi-new edition, along with playtest material that, so far at least, seems to poke the promise of backwards compatibility right in the eye while repeating a lot of the "let's get off the edition treadmill" talk that surrounded 5e while looking an awful lot like a new edition, seems like the kind of thing that would depress sales. But I don't know jack about marketing or sales, so hey.
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