Hasbro expects to make more money from Baldur’s Gate 3 than from all its film licensing in the past 5-10 years combined. This comes from CEO Chris Cocks, speaking in the toy company’s second quarter 2023 earnings conference call.
In the call, which took place on August 3 (coincidentally the Baldur’s Gate 3 release date) Cocks explains that he views Baldur’s Gate 3 as the equivalent of a blockbuster movie release, believes it could be a Game of the Year contender, and expects it to “engage millions of highly targeted fans”.
It’s expected to help the DnD brand too, making it not only a financial win but a brand win too. “I think it’s a heavy focus of the company going forwards,” Cocks says. “We have purposely said in this release that we’re a leading toy and game company… I would say the emphasis is on the gaming part of that.”
This comes alongside the news that Hasbro is selling its eOne Film and TV company to Lionsgate for $500 million, along with 6,500 titles, and active productions such as The Rookie and Naked and Afraid. It bought the company in 2019 for $4 billion. The sale to Lionsgate is expected to complete by the end of 2023.
Overall, Hasbro explains in its Q2 financial report, the company expects to see a 3-6% decrease in revenue, largely caused by shortcomings in its Entertainment sector. According to the report, the “Entertainment segment margin is now expected to decline” due to the poor performance of the D&D film Honor Among Thieves, as well as the ongoing strikes.
Hasbro also revealed that its recent MTG release, Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle Earth is the second best-selling MTG set already, but that overall, Wizards of the Coast’s profits are down 37%
Check out our Baldur’s Gate 3 review to see if we think it’s a possible GOTY contender (spoiler alert: it’s the best DnD game ever made). And don’t miss out on our guides to Baldur’s Gate 3’s classes and Baldur’s Gate 3 companions.