It seems investments are already paying off for the gaming company Hasbro, who are reporting nothing but profit and growth for the first financial quarter of 2021.
In a recent investor call, Hasbro's CEO and Chairman, Brian Goldner, expressed gratitude at the dedication of Hasbro's staff. A prepared statement reads, "I want to recognize and thank the Hasbro employees around the world who continue to work through a pandemic and were able to deliver such a high-quality quarter with revenue momentum, profit improvement and strong cash generation." Part of this growth is because this is the first report after Hasbro's corporate restructuring with the recently acquired Wizards of the Coast, the studio behind Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, as a division of the company.
It's an acquisition that is paying dividends. As the call continues, Goldner states the impressive growth by Wizards of the Coast thanks to positive engagement with consumers and investing in digital sales and services. In addition to revenue being up 15% year-over-year for Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons has seen double-digit growth in revenue thanks to strong tabletop sales. The call does state optimism for DnD to grow in this regard thanks to ongoing material for the tabletop RPG, as well as positive word of mouth for its upcoming licensed video game, Dark Alliance.
The most interesting numbers, however, come from Magic: The Gathering. The online game Magic: The Gathering Arena, which debuted on mobile devices in Q1 of this year, has seen its revenue grow 24% year-over-year. Over 3.5 billion games have been played, and players are spending on average about nine hours a week playing. Yet despite ongoing complications from the global pandemic, the company has stated that this has not led to any cannibalization between digital sales and physical cards and products.
As if to punctuate this statement, the report continues, stating that the Kaldheim set for MTG has become the bestselling winter set in the game's entire history. Thanks to ongoing interest from the recently announced Secret Lair sets as well as growing player bases, it looks like this is just the start of good things for these beloved franchises.
