Hasbro, the company that owns and operates Dungeons & Dragons creators Wizards of the Coast, has already invested more than $1bn (£799m) into creating new video games based on the tabletop role-playing game.
In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Dan Ayoub, head of digital product development at Wizards of the Coast, discussed Hasbro's plans to develop and publish new titles based on the company's various properties, including Dungeons & Dragons.
Ayoub confirmed that: “We (Hasbro) have a considerable investment in our studio structure; we have over $1 billion worth of games in development right now.” It was already announced in late 2022 that Invoke Studios, formerly called Tuque Games, the developer behind the 2021 D&D video game Dark Alliance, is currently working on an “original Dungeons & Dragons-inspired” video game.
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According to Ayoub, Hasbro’s video game division, which currently features four independent studios, has “something like” last year’s critically acclaimed role-playing video game Baldur’s Gate 3 – the third installment in a series of video games based directly on D&D. Developed and published by Larian Studios, which had acquired the rights to the series from Wizards of the Coast, Baldur’s Gate 3 has since become one of the most successful video games in history, winning multiple Game of the Year awards from several different organizations.
Ayoub commented that, “One of the best things we learned from the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 is that people really like a great, well-executed D&D game.” Despite Hasbro’s layoffs last year, which saw 1,100 employees lose their jobs in order to “keep Hasbro healthy,” the company has invested $1 billion across more than the four studios it has publicly disclosed.
According to Ayoub, in addition to investing money in video game studios Atomic Arcade, Invoke Studios, Skeleton Key and Austin, Hasbro has further investments in other areas of the gaming space – “that's not even talking about the other gaming investments that are happening.” […] “We have a portfolio that is much, much bigger than anything we’re talking about now,” Ayoub said, “video games are an integral part of Hasbro’s strategy for the next 100 years.”
The Wizards of the Coast representative stated that the company is steering these new investments through “strong leaders” and “thinking long-term.” Ayoub followed up this statement by assuring that “everything will sit on the shelf as long as it needs to, we’re not going to rush anything.”
“We have to make sure that everything that comes out is top quality, authentic and something we can build on.”