Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks is doing that thing again. 'That thing' is making sweeping statements about D&D's future money-making strategy, the kind that make my butthole clench in unpleasant ways. This time, Cocks has told us to expect more D&D crossovers going forward. Hasbro has seen how much money Universes Beyond is making for Magic: The Gathering, and it wants D&D to seize a slice of that pie.
Cocks made these comments in a GamesRadar interview published this week, and he quite literally points to Universes Beyond as the thing he wants to see more of in D&D. In case you don't play many trading card games, Universes Beyond is the official name for Magic: The Gathering's licensed crossover sets. It means in-universe Magic characters now rub shoulders with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Spongebob, and many more.
Universes Beyond has made Hasbro a lot of money. Some of MTG's best-selling sets of all time have been licensed products. However, there are many vocal members of the fanbase that loathe seeing their game's lore diluted by the sudden appearance of Marvel superheroes.
I am one of those Magic: The Gathering players. Naturally, the thought of a Universes Beyond business model for D&D has me concerned.
Granted, things would be handled a bit differently in the tabletop RPG. There's a degree of separation between Wizards of the Coast's existing crossovers and its in-universe content.
There's no reason you need to use the Critical Role DnD classes in your Stranger Things starter set adventures. Likewise, if you don't like Rick and Morty, you can stick to the Forgotten Realms and leave its licensed D&D book well enough alone. Exodus, a TTRPG based on the upcoming videogame of the same name, is an entirely separate system, even if it uses 90% of the D&D rules.
There are other problems, though. Firstly, pretty much all of these licensed products have been painfully mid. The latest Stranger Things starter set had plenty of merits for beginner players, but its writing was totally uninspired. Exodus, Rick and Morty, and that older Stranger Things starter set are flawed and forgettable.
If Hasbro goes all in on crossovers, it also risks taking resources away from in-universe D&D books. We've already got a sparse DnD release schedule this year, and I don't want to see it reduced further.
I've spoken many, many times about the fact that all I want from D&D right now is lore. I crave original settings and canon-altering campaigns that excite me. As a Dungeon Master without the free time to craft a homebrew world from the ground up, I'd relish some in-universe inspiration.
Chris Cocks' comments are a sign that I won't be getting much of that any time soon. Hasbro appears desperate to find more ways to monetize a game whose primary currency is imagination. The best way to do that, it seems, is to dilute D&D as much as possible.
Those three letters have value because they're a brand, not a living, breathing game. Hasbro doesn't seem interested in making D&D better; its growth strategy is apparently just reminding non-D&D players that the game exists.
It's comments like these that make me want to jump off the D&D train - and that's before we consider how much Cocks loves talking about bringing AI into Hasbro products. I love the game, and I'll still write about it every day (it's the most popular tabletop RPG on Earth, so I sort of have to). But Chris Cocks' plans to get people spending money are only leading me to put my wallet away.
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