WotC "Selling off D&D"? Maybe Not...

RPGPundit · January 31, 2024, 09:48:52 PM

Quote from: Orphan81 on January 31, 2024, 09:36:53 PM
Tencent wants it by way of Larian.

Larian originally wanted it, but couldn't afford it. They're the ones that tipped off Tencent to it..

Tencent has a 30% stake in Larian... If Tencent buys it, they're buying all of it, not just the videogames and they're going to give it to Larian.

And if Larian becomes the owners of the D&D intellectual Property by way of Daddy Tencent?

D&D has a much bigger chance of being saved.

Why would they just give it to Larian?

Grognard GM · January 31, 2024, 10:12:13 PM

Quote from: RPGPundit on January 31, 2024, 09:48:52 PM
Quote from: Orphan81 on January 31, 2024, 09:36:53 PM
Tencent wants it by way of Larian.

Larian originally wanted it, but couldn't afford it. They're the ones that tipped off Tencent to it..

Tencent has a 30% stake in Larian... If Tencent buys it, they're buying all of it, not just the videogames and they're going to give it to Larian.

And if Larian becomes the owners of the D&D intellectual Property by way of Daddy Tencent?

D&D has a much bigger chance of being saved.

Why would they just give it to Larian?

Greedy corpo fucks that just want maximum profit could actually be better than greedy corpo fucks that are actively destroying the brand. I'd rather have memberberries and transparent fan service than whatever we have now.

rytrasmi · January 31, 2024, 10:20:21 PM

Quote from: RPGPundit on January 31, 2024, 09:48:52 PM
Quote from: Orphan81 on January 31, 2024, 09:36:53 PM
Tencent wants it by way of Larian.

Larian originally wanted it, but couldn't afford it. They're the ones that tipped off Tencent to it..

Tencent has a 30% stake in Larian... If Tencent buys it, they're buying all of it, not just the videogames and they're going to give it to Larian.

And if Larian becomes the owners of the D&D intellectual Property by way of Daddy Tencent?

D&D has a much bigger chance of being saved.

Why would they just give it to Larian?

Tencent won't give it away. They will buy the rest of Larian or sub-license it to Larian.

Orphan81 · January 31, 2024, 11:29:20 PM

Quote from: RPGPundit on January 31, 2024, 09:48:52 PM

Why would they just give it to Larian?

No offense Pundit, but this is an area of business you don't know anything about.

Why would they give it to Larian?

For the same reason the let Riot Studios continue to make Valorant and League of Legends.

Tencent is a Holding company. They like to have fingers in other companies and reap the rewards, they're very hands off.

They have a 30% holding in Larian because they trust Larian. Given Larian's extreme success with Baldur's Gate 3, Tencent is more likely to sub-liscence the IP to Larian and let them run it, sit back and collect the proceeds... like they do with all the other Companies they have a stake in.

RPGPundit · February 01, 2024, 04:59:22 AM

Quote from: Orphan81 on January 31, 2024, 11:29:20 PM
Quote from: RPGPundit on January 31, 2024, 09:48:52 PM

Why would they just give it to Larian?

No offense Pundit, but this is an area of business you don't know anything about.

Why would they give it to Larian?

For the same reason the let Riot Studios continue to make Valorant and League of Legends.

Tencent is a Holding company. They like to have fingers in other companies and reap the rewards, they're very hands off.

They have a 30% holding in Larian because they trust Larian. Given Larian's extreme success with Baldur's Gate 3, Tencent is more likely to sub-liscence the IP to Larian and let them run it, sit back and collect the proceeds... like they do with all the other Companies they have a stake in.

Sub-licensing is very different than "giving it away"

Rhymer88 · February 01, 2024, 06:40:24 AM

Quote from: BadApple on January 31, 2024, 07:36:08 PM
So here's an idea I want to float.

What if Hasbro knows the VTT is failing and they are trying to manage the losses before they become so public as to turn them inside-out? Possibly, Tencent sees D&D as an IP they can then license out to both in house developers and to other publishers like Mongoose or Asmodee?

I was thinking they could license the ttrpg to Kobold Press, which could then simply rename Tales of the Valiant to Dungeons & Dragons 5e Remastered.

Chris24601 · February 01, 2024, 09:45:41 AM

Quote from: BadApple on January 31, 2024, 07:36:08 PM
So here's an idea I want to float.

What if Hasbro knows the VTT is failing and they are trying to manage the losses before they become so public as to turn them inside-out? Possibly, Tencent sees D&D as an IP they can then license out to both in house developers and to other publishers like Mongoose or Asmodee?

Interestingly enough, the Foundry VTT just announced a deal with WotC to bring official D&D content to its VTT.

https://foundryvtt.com/article/dungeons-dragons-arrives/

Seems odd that they'd make that sort of deal with a competing VTT if their "walled garden" was going according to plan.

ETA: though this deal also suggests they're not attempting to do more than license rights to Tencent; if they were looking to sell it, making a licensing deal with another party just ahead of a sale would be seen as all sorts of bad faith.

daft · February 01, 2024, 10:50:23 AM

Quote from: Chris24601 on February 01, 2024, 09:45:41 AM
Quote from: BadApple on January 31, 2024, 07:36:08 PM
So here's an idea I want to float.

What if Hasbro knows the VTT is failing and they are trying to manage the losses before they become so public as to turn them inside-out? Possibly, Tencent sees D&D as an IP they can then license out to both in house developers and to other publishers like Mongoose or Asmodee?
Interestingly enough, the Foundry VTT just announced a deal with WotC to bring official D&D content to its VTT.

https://foundryvtt.com/article/dungeons-dragons-arrives/

I was about to post the very same thing. It's a bit weird as the official D&D VTT seems to have gotten some decent press from the youtubers I've seen that has been granted a glimpse. Maybe it's just a case of hoping to bring people to the online space in order to shove them over?

Seems odd that they'd make that sort of deal with a competing VTT if their "walled garden" was going according to plan.

ETA: though this deal also suggests they're not attempting to do more than license rights to Tencent; if they were looking to sell it, making a licensing deal with another party just ahead of a sale would be seen as all sorts of bad faith.

yosemitemike · February 01, 2024, 11:25:02 AM

Quote from: RPGPundit on January 31, 2024, 03:58:29 PM
The difference is that Tencent is NOT INTERESTED in buying all of D&D. The original article in the original chinese seems pretty clearly to be saying it wants only the rights to all the video games.

Of course Tencent only wants the video game rights. That's where all of the real money is. The entire ttrpg hobby is nickel and dime stuff to a company that big.

Rhymer88 · February 01, 2024, 12:33:38 PM

"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'"

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/

Orphan81 · February 01, 2024, 02:16:49 PM

Quote from: Rhymer88 on February 01, 2024, 12:33:38 PM
"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'"

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/

Like I said in the other thread... I was hoping for this to be true.
Oh well, D&D can continue it's downward spiral of failure.

RPGPundit · February 04, 2024, 08:14:50 PM

So, I was right again...

Theory of Games · February 05, 2024, 07:28:09 PM

I don't know.

The OGL debacle and the movie flop and the AI art thing and the layoffs (most of it hitting WotC) and the falling stock price and the appearance of at least one golden parachute ("Jump, Chris!") and wtf happened to "DND TV"? Usually when a company's bleeding like Hasbro they leak rumors of a sale to bolster the stock price but when the Tencent-Hasbro rumors emerged, the latter's stock value dropped like a fkn rock.

Maybe Hasbro's thinking they've gotten all the golden eggs the chicken's gonna lay so sell it and get on to the next thing. Stranger things have happened, no?

Baron · February 05, 2024, 08:11:03 PM

Quote from: Theory of Games on February 05, 2024, 07:28:09 PM
I don't know.

The OGL debacle and the movie flop and the AI art thing and the layoffs (most of it hitting WotC) and the falling stock price and the appearance of at least one golden parachute ("Jump, Chris!") and wtf happened to "DND TV"? Usually when a company's bleeding like Hasbro they leak rumors of a sale to bolster the stock price but when the Tencent-Hasbro rumors emerged, the latter's stock value dropped like a fkn rock.

Maybe Hasbro's thinking they've gotten all the golden eggs the chicken's gonna lay so sell it and get on to the next thing. Stranger things have happened, no?

Seems to me Hasbro would say "we're not selling D&D" whether they are or not. Proves nothing, we'll just have to wait and see.

Chris Cocks? A golden parachute? You saying he's quitting, or he negotiated one?

As for D&D TV, it happened: https://gizmodo.com/dungeons-dragons-adventures-streaming-amazon-plex-1851020979