https://www.pcgamer.com/wizards-of-the-coast-dispels-rumours-that-tencent-wants-to-gobble-up-dandd-like-a-tarrasque-to-be-clear-we-are-not-looking-to-sell-our-dandd-ip/

Wizards of the Coast dispels rumours that Tencent wants to gobble up D&D
like a tarrasque: 'To be clear: We are not looking to sell our D&D IP'

By Harvey Randall

5th-level Banish Rumour (Abjuration). Casting time: 1 Action.
Components: Verbal, Material (A single public statement).

Dungeons & Dragons is in a bizarre place right now—it's on the verge of
the totally-not-a-new-edition ruleset revamp and an in-development
virtual tabletop project, riding high off the back of Baldur's Gate 3.
But Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has also suffered from a massive round
of layoffs, and the bruises of the catastrophic OGL fiasco a year ago
are still smarting.

This has laid the groundwork for a swarm of rumours regarding a
potential sale to Tencent—a massive conglomerate and holding company
with its fingers in dozens of different pies including Remedy
Entertainment, Paradox Interactive, FromSoftware, Epic Games and (most
importantly to the matter at hand) Larian Studios.

Said whispers began when the Chinese news outlet Speed Daily (as
translated by Pan Daily) reported that WotC parent company Hasbro was
"seeking to sell its well-known IP 'Dungeons & Dragons'", citing
Hasbro's "financial crisis" as a reason for the speculation. That's
despite D&D being a huge earner for Hasbro, achieving record years (as
per a financial report last October) for the company.

Shucking D&D as a property entirely would be like throwing a crate of
diamonds overboard to stop your ship from sinking—not something you'd do
unless you were definitely about to drown. Which isn't completely out of
the question. That same report noted Hasbro's total revenue was down
"13-15%", and repeatedly cites a difficult situation for toys across the
board. Still, I'm not sure if things are dire enough for a spontaneous
bout of violin-playing. That's been confirmed in a comment provided to
Dicebreaker, where Wizards of the Coast writes the following:

"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 rumours, 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
rumours about potential [mergers and acquisitions] or licensing deals."

So there you have it: D&D isn't being sold to anyone. What's more likely
is that Tencent—which owns a 30% stake in Larian Studios—might be
thinking about pouring money into another D&D game. That should surprise
nobody, considering the meteoric success of Baldur's Gate 3. Another
licensing deal isn't just 'not out of the question', it's a plain good idea.

Under any other circumstances I'm not sure any of this would've made
waves in forums and headlines. But the environment surrounding D&D at
the moment is, understandably, one of fear. Hasbro's layoffs included
several senior members of staff. Game designers, art directors, and Liz
Schuch—the company's former Head of Publishing and Licensing, who was
with Wizards of the Coast for 28 whole years.

There's a bordering-on-zero percent chance something like this would
actually happen, but the background radiation of 'strange times' has a
lot of TTRPG fans without a fuller scope of the situation willing to buy
into speculative panic, and I can't say I necessarily blame them.

On 2/1/2024 4:09 PM, Kyonshi wrote:
> https://www.pcgamer.com/wizards-of-the-coast-dispels-rumours-that-tencent-wants-to-gobble-up-dandd-like-a-tarrasque-to-be-clear-we-are-not-looking-to-sell-our-dandd-ip/
>
> Wizards of the Coast dispels rumours that Tencent wants to gobble up D&D
> like a tarrasque: 'To be clear: We are not looking to sell our D&D IP'
>
> By Harvey Randall
>
> 5th-level Banish Rumour (Abjuration). Casting time: 1 Action.
> Components: Verbal, Material (A single public statement).
>
> Dungeons & Dragons is in a bizarre place right now—it's on the verge of
> the totally-not-a-new-edition ruleset revamp and an in-development
> virtual tabletop project, riding high off the back of Baldur's Gate 3.
> But Wizards of the Coast (WotC) has also suffered from a massive round
> of layoffs, and the bruises of the catastrophic OGL fiasco a year ago
> are still smarting.
>
> This has laid the groundwork for a swarm of rumours regarding a
> potential sale to Tencent—a massive conglomerate and holding company
> with its fingers in dozens of different pies including Remedy
> Entertainment, Paradox Interactive, FromSoftware, Epic Games and (most
> importantly to the matter at hand) Larian Studios.
>
> Said whispers began when the Chinese news outlet Speed Daily (as
> translated by Pan Daily) reported that WotC parent company Hasbro was
> "seeking to sell its well-known IP 'Dungeons & Dragons'", citing
> Hasbro's "financial crisis" as a reason for the speculation. That's
> despite D&D being a huge earner for Hasbro, achieving record years (as
> per a financial report last October) for the company.
>
> Shucking D&D as a property entirely would be like throwing a crate of
> diamonds overboard to stop your ship from sinking—not something you'd do
> unless you were definitely about to drown. Which isn't completely out of
> the question. That same report noted Hasbro's total revenue was down
> "13-15%", and repeatedly cites a difficult situation for toys across the
> board. Still, I'm not sure if things are dire enough for a spontaneous
> bout of violin-playing. That's been confirmed in a comment provided to
> Dicebreaker, where Wizards of the Coast writes the following:
>
> "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 rumours, 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
> rumours about potential [mergers and acquisitions] or licensing deals."
>
> So there you have it: D&D isn't being sold to anyone. What's more likely
> is that Tencent—which owns a 30% stake in Larian Studios—might be
> thinking about pouring money into another D&D game. That should surprise
> nobody, considering the meteoric success of Baldur's Gate 3. Another
> licensing deal isn't just 'not out of the question', it's a plain good
> idea.
>
> Under any other circumstances I'm not sure any of this would've made
> waves in forums and headlines. But the environment surrounding D&D at
> the moment is, understandably, one of fear. Hasbro's layoffs included
> several senior members of staff. Game designers, art directors, and Liz
> Schuch—the company's former Head of Publishing and Licensing, who was
> with Wizards of the Coast for 28 whole years.
>
> There's a bordering-on-zero percent chance something like this would
> actually happen, but the background radiation of 'strange times' has a
> lot of TTRPG fans without a fuller scope of the situation willing to buy
> into speculative panic, and I can't say I necessarily blame them.

of course the question is if we can even believe what they say or if
they are lying through their teeth.

On 2/1/2024 7:12 AM, Kyonshi wrote:
> On 2/1/2024 4:09 PM, Kyonshi wrote:
>
>> Wizards of the Coast dispels rumours that Tencent wants to gobble up
>> D&D like a tarrasque: 'To be clear: We are not looking to sell our D&D
>> IP'
>
> of course the question is if we can even believe what they say or if
> they are lying through their teeth.

Yeah, I'm sure if they were offered the right amount of money they would
sell it. I.e. more money than they could reasonably expect to make from
it. They're a publicly trades company, so if the BoD and/or
shareholders decide they should they will, 'Leadership promises' mean
nothing unless backed by contract.

--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'

On 2 Feb 2024, Kyonshi wrote:

> Under any other circumstances I'm not sure any of this would've made
> waves in forums and headlines. But the environment surrounding D&D at
> the moment is, understandably, one of fear. Hasbro's layoffs included
> several senior members of staff. Game designers, art directors, and Liz
> Schuch—the company's former Head of Publishing and Licensing, who was
> with Wizards of the Coast for 28 whole years.

It's interesting how fast and strongly this rumour took off. I've seen
multiple YouTube creators talking about it. I guess the all events of the last
year, starting with the OGL, have helped fan the flames.

Funny thing is, once rumours start and the big shareholders get it into their
heads it becomes more and more plausable to them.

--
gbbgu

On 2/2/2024 3:30 AM, gbbgu wrote:
> On 2 Feb 2024, Kyonshi wrote:
>
>> Under any other circumstances I'm not sure any of this would've made
>> waves in forums and headlines. But the environment surrounding D&D at
>> the moment is, understandably, one of fear. Hasbro's layoffs included
>> several senior members of staff. Game designers, art directors, and Liz
>> Schuch—the company's former Head of Publishing and Licensing, who was
>> with Wizards of the Coast for 28 whole years.
>
> It's interesting how fast and strongly this rumour took off. I've seen
> multiple YouTube creators talking about it. I guess the all events of the last
> year, starting with the OGL, have helped fan the flames.
>
> Funny thing is, once rumours start and the big shareholders get it into their
> heads it becomes more and more plausable to them.
>

And trying to dispel the rumors doesn't really do much. If the idea is
lodged in the public's brain trying to deny it is gonna make it worse.