Recent reports suggested that Hasbro was potentially looking to sell its Dungeons & Dragons IP, but this is not the case. A spokesperson for D&D operator Wizards of the Coast told VGC that rumors of Tencent buying the D&D IP are unfounded.
Wizards of the Coast and Tencent talk regularly and are partners across multiple products, but Wizards of the Coast made it very clear: “We are not looking to sell our D&D IP.”
The statement continued: “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.”
Larian Studios’ Baldur’s Gate III, which enjoyed great success in 2023, is based on the D&D universe and Tencent owns 30% of the Belgian developer. A report said Larian was considering buying the D&D franchise but didn’t have enough funds. Larian boss Swen Vincke responded on social media that D&D is not for sale, so these rumors are not correct.
It’s silly that I should do a tweet about not buying something that is not for sale so I won’t. But in case you’re wondering, we’re not. Hope that clears it up.
— Swen Vincke @where? (@LarAtLarian) February 1, 2024
Hasbro, like many other companies, saw its business flourish during the height of the pandemic, as people stayed home and spent more money on games. However, Hasbro’s momentum slowed and the company announced drastic job cuts.
For D&D specifically, Hasbro caught some heat due to changes to its Open Game License. Beyond that, it was reported that Wizards of the Coast canceled at least five games, potentially signaling a shift in its strategy for digital games.
Looking ahead, there are more D&D games in the works. For example, Payday developer Starbreeze is making an official D&D multiplayer game as one of its next projects.
