The future of D&D is digital.

Cynthia Williams: The woman now in charge at Wizards of the Coast...
https://www.geeknative.com/139128/cynthia-williams-the-woman-now-in-charge-at-wizards-of-the-coast-holds-a-patent-for-finding-items-missing-in-the-mail/

Quote"Joining the team whose passion and imagination created such iconic games as MAGIC: THE GATHERING and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is a dream come true. With best-in-class developers, designers and producers, the opportunities at Wizards of the Coast for creative storytelling and innovative game play are limitless. I look forward to working with Chris, Tim, Hasbro and the entire Wizards of the Coast team to build on their incredible momentum and deliver exciting new experiences for our fans globally."

At this point it's obvious WotC wants to move the D&D brand into the digital sphere to where the big AAA gaming bucks are.

And they brought in a Ceo who has never payed Magic or D&D to do that. But is supposedly really good at that corporate synergy thing to grow brands.

We will see how all this unfolds in the next 5 years as they roll out the D&D movie, tv series, and video games.

If successful we'll likely see a The table top side of D&D take a firm back seat to the Entertainment side.

Similar to Marvel Comics vs. Marvel Entertainment... So long as the mega bucks keep coming in they won't care much about what the print side of things is doing. It'll be just an IP farm for the digital money makers that bring in the real cash.

The push to move the D&D Brand as a big money maker beyond the RPG is officially On...


A glimpse of the corporate culture she is coming from:
https://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-every-device/

Quote"Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms," said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. "We're investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all."

Make of that what you will...

Quote from: Jaeger on February 03, 2022, 01:17:14 PM
The future of D&D is digital.

Cynthia Williams: The woman now in charge at Wizards of the Coast...
https://www.geeknative.com/139128/cynthia-williams-the-woman-now-in-charge-at-wizards-of-the-coast-holds-a-patent-for-finding-items-missing-in-the-mail/

Quote"Joining the team whose passion and imagination created such iconic games as MAGIC: THE GATHERING and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is a dream come true. With best-in-class developers, designers and producers, the opportunities at Wizards of the Coast for creative storytelling and innovative game play are limitless. I look forward to working with Chris, Tim, Hasbro and the entire Wizards of the Coast team to build on their incredible momentum and deliver exciting new experiences for our fans globally."

At this point it's obvious WotC wants to move the D&D brand into the digital sphere to where the big AAA gaming bucks are.

And they brought in a Ceo who has never payed Magic or D&D to do that. But is supposedly really good at that corporate synergy thing to grow brands.

We will see how all this unfolds in the next 5 years as they roll out the D&D movie, tv series, and video games.

If successful we'll likely see a The table top side of D&D take a firm back seat to the Entertainment side.

Similar to Marvel Comics vs. Marvel Entertainment... So long as the mega bucks keep coming in they won't care much about what the print side of things is doing. It'll be just an IP farm for the digital money makers that bring in the real cash.

The push to move the D&D Brand as a big money maker beyond the RPG is officially On...


A glimpse of the corporate culture she is coming from:
https://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-to-acquire-activision-blizzard-to-bring-the-joy-and-community-of-gaming-to-everyone-across-every-device/

Quote"Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms," said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. "We're investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all."

Make of that what you will...

Bolding, growing mine:

It has been for years, some of uss have been saying this for a while, they want to move away from the TTRPG into a brand.

Quote"Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms," said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. "We're investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all."

Wokefying D&D even more, and they will not a get any pushback from Hasbro, remember who is the big kahuna there now.

Considering how bad D&D: Dark Alliance was, I suspect we have a little time.

Quote from: Jaeger on February 03, 2022, 01:17:14 PM
The future of D&D is digital.
...

Make of that what you will...

There's a small chance -- too small for comfort but still real -- that this could be good for the rest of us. The more D&D becomes a generic lifestyle/entertainment brand, the less meatspace tabletop games will be their competition. I'd love to be just an uncool nerd again.

They're going to outsource the development of DnD to Green Ronin. Good news: Jeremy Crawford will hopefully be out of a job. Bad news: Chris Pramas is a total knob.

Or would the Marvel comics model be worse?

Either way or a different way this sucks. Future generations are going to be shown a shit DnD.

Quote from: horsesoldier on February 03, 2022, 01:48:32 PM
Future generations are going to be shown a shit DnD.

Won't be the first time. 2e caved to censorship and was ruined by splatbooks. 4e's only saving grace was it was a decent (if overcomplicated) small-scale wargame if you stuck to the core books; the supplements just added a bunch of nonsense and the adventure modules were lazy and slapped together  -- Halls of Undermountain only included the first level, and The Stone of Sakkara was flat-out unfinished: you had to download the map from the Web after you bought the module.

It's probably time for the hobby to outgrow the One True Game anyway.

Quote from: Jaeger on February 03, 2022, 01:17:14 PM
At this point it's obvious WotC wants to move the D&D brand into the digital sphere to where the big AAA gaming bucks are.

And they brought in a Ceo who has never payed Magic or D&D to do that. But is supposedly really good at that corporate synergy thing to grow brands.

That's been their strategy for many years. Chris Cocks was the previous WotC CEO, and he took over in 2016 coming from Technical Sales at Microsoft.

QuoteLeeds will be replaced by Chris Cocks, who most recently served as Vice President, OEM Technical Sales at Microsoft Corporation, where he led a global sales and technical engagement team. Prior to his eight-year tenure with Microsoft, Chris served as Vice President of Educational Games at LeapFrog, where he led a cross-discipline team to drive hardware planning, software design and development, marketing and channel management. He began his career in brand management at Procter & Gamble and served in product management and marketing leadership positions in Xbox and MSN, including work on hit franchises like Halo and Fable, prior to joining Leapfrog.

Source: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160411006121/en/Hasbro-Announces-New-Leadership-for-Wizards-of-the-Coast

Greg Leeds was the CEO from 2008 to 2016. He was previously head of international marketing at Hasbro.

QuoteGreg Leeds, who has headed Hasbro's international marketing for the past seven years, is moving to WotC headquarters in Renton Washington and assuming the presidency of Wizards of the Coast.  Prior to developing Hasbro's global brand management methodology as head of International Marketing, Leeds headed up Hasbro's Boys group.

https://icv2.com/articles/games/view/12229/new-wotc-president
https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregory-leeds/

A CEO isn't necessarily supposed to be a gamer or game designer. They're someone who handles the business side of things.

Quote from: Cat the Bounty Smuggler on February 03, 2022, 02:02:04 PM
It's probably time for the hobby to outgrow the One True Game anyway.

Oh, totally. It's especially bad in less popular genres like urban fantasy, where your only options are between V5 (which has a huge idiosyncratic mythology baked in that I have zero interest in) and Shadowrun (which is post-apocalypse cyberpunk urban fantasy... when I'm just looking for modern urban fantasy). V5 is experiencing a similar issue as D&D because the owner Paradox wants to whore the IP out for cheap video games and apparently television shows too... or at least they were before they decided to stop funding new games in favor of just churning out DLC for existing games, so I have no clue what's up with them now.

Quote from: Geeky Bugle on February 03, 2022, 01:28:29 PM

Quote from: Jaeger on February 03, 2022, 01:17:14 PM
The future of D&D is digital.
...
The push to move the D&D Brand as a big money maker beyond the RPG is officially On...
...

Bolding, growing mine:

It has been for years, some of us have been saying this for a while, they want to move away from the TTRPG into a brand.

Oh for sure.

IMHO the new Ceo represents them doubling down on making it work.

Despite massive growth Magic still brings in twice as much cash as D&D. But on paper D&D is by far the more exploitable IP.

They can just see those millions sitting out there for them, waiting, and they want...

Quote from: Geeky Bugle on February 03, 2022, 01:28:29 PM

Quote"Gaming is the most dynamic and exciting category in entertainment across all platforms today and will play a key role in the development of metaverse platforms," said Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Microsoft. "We're investing deeply in world-class content, community and the cloud to usher in a new era of gaming that puts players and creators first and makes gaming safe, inclusive and accessible to all."

Wokefying D&D even more, and they will not a get any pushback from Hasbro, remember who is the big kahuna there now.

While I expect the dial to be turned up a bit - IMHO what will really get them in the end is their internal culture and hiring practices.

The more they embrace the Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, ideology internally, the more their focus shifts from their core mission: making good content for D&D.

And as they shift their hiring priorities to qualities other than talent and merit, they will slowly rob themselves of their ability to service their core fan base.

The fall of WoW to Final Fantasy as King of the MMO's is a good example of this. But it is a process that will play out over years...

Quote from: Ghostmaker on February 03, 2022, 01:28:29 PM
Considering how bad D&D: Dark Alliance was, I suspect we have a little time.

Yes. If I was a betting man I think her hire was very much to get everyone's act together. WotC has invested heavily in the digital space for D&D. It needs to start really paying off for them to justify the expense...

Quote from: Cat the Bounty Smuggler on February 03, 2022, 01:33:05 PM

Quote from: Jaeger on February 03, 2022, 01:17:14 PM
The future of D&D is digital.
...

Make of that what you will...

There's a small chance -- too small for comfort but still real -- that this could be good for the rest of us. The more D&D becomes a generic lifestyle/entertainment brand, the less meatspace tabletop games will be their competition. I'd love to be just an uncool nerd again.

Ditto, besides...

Quote from: Cat the Bounty Smuggler on February 03, 2022, 02:02:04 PM

Quote from: horsesoldier on February 03, 2022, 01:48:32 PM
Future generations are going to be shown a shit DnD.

Won't be the first time. 2e caved to censorship and was ruined by splatbooks. 4e's only saving grace was it was a decent (if overcomplicated) small-scale wargame if you stuck to the core books; the supplements just added a bunch of nonsense and the adventure modules were lazy and slapped together  -- Halls of Undermountain only included the first level, and The Stone of Sakkara was flat-out unfinished: you had to download the map from the Web after you bought the module.

It's probably time for the hobby to outgrow the One True Game anyway.

100% Agreed, this will end up opening space for the small fish to grow.

Yeah, this has been pretty heavily telegraphed. I mean WoTC ain't a game company they're an IP/Marketing company.

But what's interesting, which I know is just anecdotal, but my kid, who is a big 5e fan, does not like the direction things are going with 5e DND.

Quote from: jhkim on February 03, 2022, 02:29:55 PM
That's been their strategy for many years. ... 

I know. Mentioned it a few times in the past.

I must have worded something funny in my OP as people are assuming the idea is somehow new to me...

Quote from: jhkim on February 03, 2022, 02:29:55 PM
A CEO isn't necessarily supposed to be a gamer or game designer. They're someone who handles the business side of things.

Exactly.

They don't care about Dungeons and Dragons the game.


So it is the right time for this:

Quote from: Cat the Bounty Smuggler on February 03, 2022, 02:02:04 PM
...
It's probably time for the hobby to outgrow the One True Game anyway.

It will take a while for people to get there, but it is necessary...

These guys explain why far better than I could:

We Don't Need D&D:
https://deathtrap-games.blogspot.com/2022/01/we-dont-need-d.html

The Game VS the Brand:
https://grumpywizard.home.blog/2022/01/20/the-game-vs-the-brand/

It's not terribly unusual for corporate executives to have minimal knowledge of the base product. The defining part of those positions is providing leadership, navigating corporate culture, and maximizing returns. WotC doesn't need an executive that plays/runs/writes games, they need one that can run a corporate division for the parent company.

Quote from: Cat the Bounty Smuggler on February 03, 2022, 01:33:05 PM

Quote from: Jaeger on February 03, 2022, 01:17:14 PM
The future of D&D is digital.
...

Make of that what you will...

There's a small chance -- too small for comfort but still real -- that this could be good for the rest of us. The more D&D becomes a generic lifestyle/entertainment brand, the less meatspace tabletop games will be their competition. I'd love to be just an uncool nerd again.

The MBAs have arrived to gut the service/product to comply with market trends and projected directions of public demand and adjust the customer targeting accordingly.
We are all Runequest/Palladium/Traveller now. The 2nd tier counterprogram is the new center.

Quote from: Jaeger on February 03, 2022, 03:50:54 PM

Quote from: jhkim on February 03, 2022, 02:29:55 PM
That's been their strategy for many years. ... 

I know. Mentioned it a few times in the past.

I must have worded something funny in my OP as people are assuming the idea is somehow new to me...

Quote from: jhkim on February 03, 2022, 02:29:55 PM
A CEO isn't necessarily supposed to be a gamer or game designer. They're someone who handles the business side of things.

Exactly.

They don't care about Dungeons and Dragons the game.


So it is the right time for this:

Quote from: Cat the Bounty Smuggler on February 03, 2022, 02:02:04 PM
...
It's probably time for the hobby to outgrow the One True Game anyway.

It will take a while for people to get there, but it is necessary...

These guys explain why far better than I could:

We Don't Need D&D:
https://deathtrap-games.blogspot.com/2022/01/we-dont-need-d.html

The Game VS the Brand:
https://grumpywizard.home.blog/2022/01/20/the-game-vs-the-brand/

Haven't watched those vids but...

Let my spell MY position, one I've held for a while as some of you might atest to.

D&D isn't the hobby, the hobby is role playing, D&D is just the biggest brand (currently) serving the hobby. Brands come and go, the hobby will remain as long as people wanting to play RPGs exist.

A brand can be toxic for the hobby, I think D&D has become toxic, as such the sooner it stops being the big fish in the pond the better.

WotC will not go broke (as in they will not file for bankrupcy), because they have the mega bucks of Hasbro behind. Neither will D&D fade into total obscurity anytime soon (the brand is now mainstream enough I dare say it will never fade into obscurity) if ever. But they can, and hopefully will be, replaced as the big fish in the RPG market, it has happened before, it will happen again IF WotC keeps on fucking the game.

This time around Wokefinder won't be the one to jump to the first position tho, I don't know who will but I hope it's one of the non-woke small publishers currently publishing games.

I think we can make some educated guesses tho:

WoD and all it's associated IP has been infected beyond salvation.
Hero is way too complex and you need to buy 2 bible sized books plus source books and do the work yourself. Only if they symplify shit and resume publishing full games like back in the day they might gain some traction and I still doubt they will jump to #1
GURPS is in the same boat as Hero.
DCC could be, IF they walk back from the woke precipice, I doubt they'll do so tho.
SW IS a strong contender, but they'll need a strong push to gain market share among those who like the D20 system.
Cepheus... Currently publishing games with different settings really fast...
BoL... Could be, it's a great system.
And of course we have all the OSR ecosystem... IF I were a betting man I would bet S&W/White Box FMAG are in an excellent position right now to take the crown.