D&D Beyond is Closer Than Ever to Wizards of the Coast

Parental Acquisition

Hasbro announced this morning that they are buying D&D Beyond, bringing the digital tool that many Dungeons & Dragons players use to create and test out characters closer to the parent company. Wizard of the Coast will now be in control of this service and presumably expand the features. I had no idea until this morning that Wizards of the Coast did not own D&D Beyond.

So what does this mean for D&D Beyond and D&D in general?

There are so many ways it could swing since it is so early on. I cannot in good faith say this one thing is 100% what is going to happen. That being said, here are some things to think about.

Pros

• Possibility of digital codes for books going forward? It’s doubtful anytime soon, but maybe…

• The president of WOTC said they would be jumping into developing digital products which could hint at digital books as previously mentioned, but this could also hint at a possible “in-house” virtual tabletop. This would be pretty amazing to be able to take your characters from D&D Beyond and use them directly in a virtual setting.

• This could spin into a large amalgamation of 3rd-party systems, D&D Beyond, and WOTC themselves, expanding the toolset players and DM’s have to an absolutely massive level.

Cons

• Microtransactions. I’m not saying they would be there, but if we are looking at things like Fantasy Grounds, Roll20, etc… You can see where you might have to purchase content to be able to use it on the tabletop. This could be bad, or really bad. I would assume you would need to purchase some parts of the whole to use them, that is a given. The unfortunate thought comes in if they add in microtransactions for things like “digital exclusive” classes, items, campaigns, spells, etc…

• Live Services. This sounds a lot like it could be run like a video game company. While that isn’t actually bad on the surface, if it ends up being run similar to E.A., Activision Blizzard King, Ubisoft, or Infinity Ward then we could result in an abundance of charges and poor customer service.

• This could end up pushing out 3rd-party developers. Things like Fantasy Grounds or Roll20 could cease to exist either by copyright or an outrageous cost tacked down by Hasbro for licensing.

These are a few small pros and cons I have tossing around my head as we head into seeing what the future could hold for D&D. With D&D Beyond's acquisition from Hasbro, the parent company of Wizards of the Coast (WOTC) could do all sorts of things with the most popular tabletop RPG available.

What are you hoping for with the future of this purchase? Let us know in the comments or on social media and stay cool!

Image courtesy of the official Dungeons & Dragons press kit. Initial sources include Polygon and @august.adventures on TikTok.