Hasbro has shared a new update on what video game products they are planning to make next.
Hasbro has a Ubisoft-like problem surrounding their toy business. In 2023, they laid off staff after reporting severe losses. This year, they are facing a class action lawsuit from investors, alleging that Hasbro lied and hid their problems with unsold inventory.
If you were thinking that this seems completely unconnected to Baldur’s Gate 3 possibly getting a sequel, that’s exactly right. Hasbro is in a somewhat desperate situation, so much so that they went licensing their massive warchest of toy franchises to their big competitors. Luring Larian back to make a Baldur’s Gate 4 is the last thing on their mind.
As reported by GameSpot, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks shared insight on what video game projects they do have in development. The company has allocated $ 1 billion to making video games, and they are planning to spend between $ 100-150 million a year on each game.
Hasbro had previously announced Exodus, which is being developed by Archetype Entertainment. Archetype is a game studio owned by their Magic The Gathering division, so it looks like this game could be related to the collectible card game. Hasbro also previously confirmed that they are making a G.I. Joe action-adventure game, under a Hasbro owned game studio called Atomic Arcade. We reported on a rumor that this could be an open world sandbox game where you play as Snake Eyes.
In a new interview, Cocks confirmed that they are making a Dungeons & Dragons video game with another Hasbro-owned game studio. This arrangement means that they will take on the risks associated with making games, but they will also make the most money out of them if they sell well. This will also allow Hasbro to more closely coordinate for these franchise video games to be accurate and canonical, and they seem to have invested in getting studio veterans to make these games right.
Cocks also revealed another Magic The Gathering video game. Right now, Hasbro has released Magic The Gathering: Arena, a free-to-play simulation of their collectible card game. It uses the same ruleset as competitive Magic The Gathering, and it’s available on Steam and mobile. But the game isn’t popular, because of technical issues and aggressive monetization.
The new Magic The Gathering game may have potential to win fans back, and also draw in new players. It will use the Commander format, a non-competitive ruleset that allows players to engage in more role play, and just enjoy playing casually. There is also a more serious variant of Commander, but it’s still easier and more casual than the main ruleset.
Cocks is apparently a huge Magic The Gathering fan himself, so he may want to share that passion with gamers in earnest. In the world of card game-based video games, they would be matching up against the likes of Hearthstone and Marvel Snap.
All of Hasbro’s video games have started percolating relatively recently, so we may need to wait quite a bit to see just how good they turn out to be as a video game company. But when one considers the squandered potential of all their toy franchises in the video game sphere, they have a lot of catching up to do.
