Questing Rights

Good Afternoon. PocketPair warns of a fake Palworld game showing up on mobile stores. They warn “downloading these apps may lead to the leakage of personal information stored on your smartphone or to fraud.”

Additionally, fake X accounts are showing up with celebration-type “giveaways” that aim to steal personal info. These accounts may have something as simple as a single letter difference from official social handles and often appear verified.

Please be safe.

—Tim Rhyne, Derek Neville

MAIN QUEST: Roll for ownership

Hasbro is reportedly considering the sale of its iconic Dungeons & Dragons IP, with Chinese-based Tencent being a potential buyer. Negotiations are still in the early stages, and the primary reason for Hasbro's decision is attributed to its recent financial struggles, which have led to significant layoffs, and seen its stock price decline from $108 in 2019 to $51.

According to the report, Hasboro reached out to Larian Studios following the success of DND-based Baldur's Gate 3, to see if the developers were interested in acquiring the IP. While Larian did not have the funds themselves, they connected Hasbro with Tencent, which is a minority investor in Larion Studios.

Despite Hasbro's overall losses, the DND-related IP has thrived in video game adaptations. Baldur's Gate 3 achieved critical acclaim and commercial success, winning TGA Game of the Year in 2023 and generating $657 million in revenue. Tencent's interest in acquiring Dungeons & Dragons could provide it with control over a top-tier IP and circumvent issues faced in licensing agreements with other IPs. For Tencent, this presents a rare opportunity to acquire a renowned Western IP, given Chinese companies' limited access to such assets.

Step Back: There is skepticism surrounding the report, as a similar report coming out via a previous Roll for Combat YouTube video. It is also unclear if Tencent would be buying the complete Dungeons & Dragons IP, or the exclusive rights to DND video games. In December it was announced that Payday 3 developer Starbreeze was working on a DND title.

HUD

• 👋 Joe Blackburn tweeted he will be leaving Bungie and his role as Destiny 2’s Game Director following the release of The Final Shape expansion currently slated for June 4th. Tyson Green will be taking over his role.

• 💸 Microsoft’s gaming division reports $7.11 billion in revenue for the quarter. Making it the third-largest division behind Office and server/cloud products. The reported impact of the ABK acquisition was $2 billion in revenue but it experienced an operating loss of $440 million.

• 📈 PocketPair’s Palworld crosses 19 million players. They reported over 12 million copies being sold on Steam and 7 million coming from Xbox sales and game pass downloads. Their estimated revenue is closing in on $500 million for the early access title.

MAJOR W

• 🏎️ Stellar Entertainment teases it may be working on a new Burnout racing title.

• 🐛 Warner Bros. gave $20 of in-game currency to all Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Deluxe Edition owners due to their 3-day early access being hit with bugs and connection issues.

F IN THE CHAT

• 😶 Call of Duty puts ping and time to match over skill when considering how to match players together.

• 👎️ Sega of America will lay off 61 staff among its QA and Localization teams effective March 8th.

CAREER CORNER

• Production Director — Wildlight Entertainment (Remote, US)

• Video Game Design Lead — Velan Studios (Troy, New York)

• Director of Live Services — Theorycraft (Remote, ±3 PST)

HIVE MIND

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