Hasbro's business is apparently not calming down: According to a media report, the toy giant wants to offer its Dungeons & Dragons brand for sale. There is also a presumed buyer: Tencent.
Hasbro – the toy giant stands not least for large brands, including, in the area of board games, the trading card game Magic – The Gathering and the role-playing IP Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). Hasbro could at least say goodbye to the latter in the future. According to a media report on the “Speed Daily” platform, the company is said to be interested in selling the trademark rights.
Surprising news
After the report about the layoffs at Hasbro last year, there may now be another piece of bad news. According to the report, Tencent should be considered as a potential buyer. However, negotiations regarding a possible sale of D&D are still in the early stages. The details of the deal have not yet been agreed, it said.
The reason for the presumed sale is said to be the group's financial situation as a result of the economically challenging times. The news comes all the more surprising because Hasbro recently repeatedly reiterated that they wanted to focus on a few core brands, which included Magic the Gathering and Dungeons and Dragons.
Only had 2022 Hasbro strengthened the IP with the acquisition of the toolset platform “D&D Beyond”. There has also long been a focus on wanting to strengthen the core brands through licensing. In the case of D&D, this was recently achieved with Baldur's Gate 3. The title won several awards, including the “Game of the Year” award on the popular The Game Awards show. Baldur's Gate 3 is now considered the most successful adaptation of the D&D rules ever. According to “Speed Daily”, the developers of the video role-playing game, the Belgian Larian Studios, will act as intermediaries in the possible sales plans. Hasbro is said to have offered the IP to Larian Studios; However, due to a lack of financial resources, the studio is said to have brought Tencent on board.
The traditional company Hasbro has been active on the market since the 2023s and celebrated its centenary in XNUMX. Hasbro in terms of the share price for around four years now: the price has halved by around half from 2019 to today.
As Forbes reported, Hasbro had suffered four consecutive quarters of losses due to toy sales as its primary business, according to the company's financial report. Cumulatively it is more than 500 million US dollars. In spring 2023, cash flow was negative. Most recently, Hasbro wanted to save around $300 million in costs by 2025 through the layoffs.
According to insider information, Tencent is said to be pursuing a plan to purchase several trademark rights in order to develop video games from them.
However, the report did not make it beyond the status of a rumor. A spokesperson for Wizards of the Coast recently responded and denied the “internet rumors.” The clear statement: They don't want to sell the Dungeons and Dragons IP.
Nevertheless, Wizards of the Coast stated that it regularly speaks with Tencent about partnerships on multiple IPs.
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