Chinese media giant Tencent is reportedly seeking to acquire the Dungeons & Dragons IP from Hasbro.
According to Beijing-based outletPandaily, Hasbro’s financial issues are the main reason for the proposed sale.
Update1st Feb 2024 / 9:41 am
Wizards of the Coast has denied the report.
In a statement provided to VGC, it said: “We regularly talk toTencentand enjoy multiple partnerships with them across a number of our IPs. We don’t make a habit of commenting on internet rumors, 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 rumors about potential M&A or licensing deals.”
The report also claims thatBaldur’s Gate 3studioLarianis acting as an intermediary in the deal.
It claims that Hasbro initially explored Larian as a potential buyer of the Dungeons & Dragons IP, but the developer reportedly didn’t have the funds, so Habro then moved on to Tencent, which owns 30% of Larian.
D&D is one of Hasbro’s only profitable assets alongside Monopoly, which saw huge success last year with Monopoly GO!, a mobile game that has seen massive engagement.
Despite this, Hasbro faced massive layoffs in 2022 of more than 1,900 employees, accounting for more than 20% of its workforce, according to Forbes.
Further reading
Baldur’s Gate 3 – which is part of the Dungeons & Dragons universe – was released forPCin August andPS5the following month, and is one of the current generation’s most critically acclaimed titles, as well as a big commercial hit.
The game arrived onXboxin December, launching on the Xbox Store just minutes before the game won Game of the Year atThe Game Awards.
Larian announced in November that the gamewould be getting a physical Deluxe Edition, which will be released in ‘Q1 2024’ and will be available onXbox Series X, PS5 and PC for $79.99 / €79.99.
