Hasbro Is Not Selling Dungeons & Dragons to Tencent
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Hasbro says rumors were unfounded that they were selling off the DnD intellectual property
It was news that shook up the entire tabletop RPG industry when a recent story broke claiming that Hasbro was considering selling the Dungeons & Dragons brand. According to the report, which was first published in the Chinese news site Speed Daily reports and later appeared in the English-language website Pandaily, Hasbro was in the early stages of negotiations with Chinese media conglomerate Tencent, with discussions being brokered by Larian Studios, developer of the recent DnD blockbuster Baldur’s Gate 3.
DnD followers and news sites (including this one), were quick to jump on and share the news. It turns out, however, that the reports were unfounded. Below we break out what happened.
What does the story claim was happening to the DnD brand?
According to the original Speed Daily article, which sited “informed sources,” Larian Studios was acting as an intermediary between Tencent and Hasbro with the goal of purchasing the DnD IP. The article noted that Larian was interested in purchasing the DnD brand themselves but didn’t have the capital to make such an investment (notably, Tencent maintains a roughly 30% ownership of Larian Studios).
The article also noted that Tencent has become increasingly interested in purchasing international IPs which are highly sought after in the West, but difficult to acquire for many Chinese companies. Such a move would have allowed Tencent to effectively control a major North American brand that has seen increasing popularity globally over the past few years.
How has Hasbro responded to the story?
In an exclusive response shared with Dicebreaker on February 1st, 2024, an unnamed Wizards of the Coast spokesperson noted:
“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.”
Why was the story picked up so quickly?
Given the recent financial struggles that Hasbro is facing, it’s no surprise that the story was quickly pounced upon by news sites. According to a recent Forbes analysis, total revenue is expected to fall by as much as 15%, with the entertainment branch of the company seeing a drop as high as 30%. The company is also facing massive amounts of debt, which is only adding to their financial struggles. As a result, the company undertook a massive round of lay offs shortly before Christmas of 2023, with 20% of their global workforce being let go.
Yet at the same time, the DnD brand continues to remain largely profitable. In fact, Wizards of the Coast is one of the only Hasbro business units that has consistently performed well (according to their Q3 investor statement) thanks in large part to DnD and a lucrative licensing deal for Baldur’s Gate III.
The DnD brand also represents a massive opportunity for continued growth, with the popularity (if not financial success) of films like Honor Among Thieves and increased public interest in the game thanks to shows like Stranger Things and actual play series like Critical Role.
So the idea of Hasbro looking for a potential buyer to help alleviate their financial issues, isn’t a particularly farfetched one.
Who is Tencent?
Tencent is a Chinese multinational conglomerate with a massive portfolio of interests in social media, entertainment and technology. Founded in 1998, it’s best known for owning the messaging and financial app WeChat.
Tencent is also a major player in the video game industry, with significant stakes in numerous gaming companies, including 100% ownership of Riot Games (creators of League of Legends), 40% control over Epic Games (creators of Fornite) and a 5% share in both Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft, respectively. In other words, the company has both experience and interest in the gaming space, and likely sees DnD as a potential cash generator from future video game licenses, both with Larian and other developers.
Final Thoughts
So it seems that rumors of the great DnD sell off are unproven. Although if nothing else this story does speak to the precarious financial nature of Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast and the overall perception of both companies from fans.
We’ll be keeping a close eye on this story and will update this page as we learn more.
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Cameron Nichols is a Senior Editor who lives in Boston, Massachusetts, and has been playing D&D since the early 90s, when he was introduced by his older brother and cut his teeth on AD&D 2nd Edition. Since then he’s played virtually every RPG he could get his nerdy little mitts on (including a weird Goth phase in the early 2000s when he rocked Vampire: The Masquerade pretty hard). His favorite D&D campaign setting is the Forgotten Realms and his favorite character to play was a Half-Orc Barbarian named Grug (who was unfortunately devoured by a gelatinous cube).
