We have some news from another of my favorite creators, the OG GM. Please head over, watch the full video, like it, and subscribe.
So, D&D is now shifting to a "franchise model?" Everyone gets fired or leaves, and a new leader is appointed. So D&D 2024 was a dud, and this confirms it.
I hope the new management does well and returns to the classic settings, characters, and games. I hope there are no more license troubles, although the community is largely immunized now. I hope the new team understands that the heart of this hobby lies in those who remember the old days, where respect is shown, and preservation efforts continue and expand.
I would love corrected deluxe reprints of the classics, maybe even leather-bound editions. Give me something to love. Open the SRD and licensing for previous editions. Partner with your wonderful community of players and fans. I hope they renew the licenses for Goodman Games' classic adventures and create more.
The fans won't stay if they aren't treated well, and we learned that in the D&D 4 days. They also won't stay if fan creations are cracked down on, limiting the creative space to franchisees only. You know, for maximum profits for everyone who pays the licensing fees. This reminds me of the Star Trek and Star Wars licensed RPGs for some reason, I wonder why...
I have a lot of hopes.
But I know in the end, this is all about money. Small, fan-positive things that benefit the community won't move the needle in terms of profits. With Wall Street, we are talking billion-dollar moves, like Baldur's Gate 3. Don't mind that takes years to develop, and a capable team of developers who devote their lives to delivering those types of experiences, they don't see that.
Frankly, with all the generic fantasy MMOs and games out there, I don't see how D&D competes in this space. You would need to start at the ground level rebuilding the novels, worlds, and creating a lore master and undoing the damage the identity branding did over the last 10 years. Quick money is going to be hard with all the damage the scandals have done to trust in the brand, and the time and patience it takes to crank out a billion-dollar hit every year.
If Larian Studios had been kept on, that would have been a few more billion dollars in DLCs, expansions, and other content to keep that revenue stream alive, rather than it being a one-hit wonder. This could have sustained the unit while the follow-up game was worked on, which would have kept the billion-dollar releases rolling and allowed time (money is time) for another experience game to be developed.
Instead, the BG3 money was thrown into the bin for an unwanted 2024 rehash that was only needed due to pride, team politics, and hubris. D&D 2014 could have been sustained another five to ten years, keeping the game nearly identical while not splitting the fanbase between editions. All D&D 2014 needed to do was sustain interest until the next billion-dollar hit.
The physical game itself is unimportant at this point. Put all editions back in print and price them at $60-80 per book. What you want is a strong brand, and any edition will do that job. Get out of the rules and editions business as fast as possible, and use them as nostalgia fuel. Open the licenses for all editions and make it impossible to compete with your nostalgia juggernaut.
People will be writing AD&D adventures again. The books will be in print.
Open 5E and all the OSR clones will wither on the vine.
That will be the hype you need to make all your other projects succeed and build your own built-in fan base.
If you think you are going to make money changing a few paragraphs of rules and charging people $200 for a new set of books, your mind is not in the right place for this endeavor. You are not in the rules business; you are in the brand business.
I need reasons to give me faith, which I have not had in their team for a long time.
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