Late last year, Hasbro started reaching out to people in the role-playing game community. They said they have this new contract that's going to replace the open game license. And when people took a look at it, all hell broke loose. People were so pissed off because essentially what it signaled was that the open Dungeons and Dragons era was coming to an end.
The tabletop roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons is approaching its 50th anniversary and it has never been more popular, attracting players of all ages to its analog charms. Now Hasbro, the toy company that owns it, is betting D&D can be brought into the digital age and become a big moneymaker.
Bloomberg correspondent Felix Gillette joins this episode to talk about why Dungeons & Dragons is having a cultural — and economic — moment, and why it might not be so easy to persuade diehard fans to pay for a digital experience. Gaming retail store owner Lauren Bilanko shares what it’s like to run a business that caters to the D&D crowd.
Read more here: Dungeons & Dragons’ Epic Quest to Finally Make Money.
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