D&D: WotC Billion– The First Billion-Dollar Tabletop Publisher
According to Hasbro’s Q4 report, Wizards of the Coast surpassed a billion dollars in sales for the first time ever this past quarter.
Wizards of the Coast continues to be the goose that laid the golden egg for Hasbro. Late last year the tabletop titan surpassed one billion dollars in total sales, according to Hasbro’s quarterly earnings report. This makes WotC the first (and only) billion-dollar tabletop publisher.
And a sizable chunk of that is in tabletop sales. In the quarterly earnings call, interim Hasbro CEO Rich Stoddart revealed that tabletop games accounted for 74% of the $1.3 billion in sales for the segment:
In 2021, digital gaming revenue […] grew 36% and represented 26% of the segment. Tabletop gaming revenue represents the largest piece of the segment at 74% of the total and grew 44% for the year.
Meaning that WotC’s tabletop games account for $952 million in sales, with the rest coming from digital gaming. This includes things like Magic: Arena and other WotC games. As is usual, Magic: the Gathering continues to be the biggest piece of the WotC pie, leading Hasbro’s gaming portfolio:
With a portfolio of $2.1 billion that grew 19%, Hasbro’s gaming portfolio is […] led by Magic: The Gathering, and 2021 was MAGIC’s best year ever.
But it’s not just impressive sales figures that make WotC a shining star under Hasbro’s umbrella. WotC is also responsible for a sizable chunk of its parent company’s profit. That operating profit is $547 million for the year. This accounts for 72% of Hasbro’s total company-wide operating profit of $763.3 million.
WotC grew by 42% in 2021. It will likely to continue to do so as it spearheads Hasbro’s digital publishing empire. As incoming Hasbro CEO reported:
“At $2.1 billion and 19% year-over-year growth, Hasbro is one of the biggest and fastest-growing games publishers in the world,” he said in the conference call. “Our investments in digital and direct-to-consumer give us an amazing opportunity to learn from them in real time via cutting-edge data analytics and to reinvent how we bring product to market and customize it for our most passionate fans.”
Wizards of the Coast predicts another big year, with more Magic sets and D&D releases looking to user in a new era at Hasbro.
