Hasbro Ambitious Post-Baldur's Gate 3 Plans Include More Than $1 Billion in Internal Game Development

ign.com:

Hasbro has already invested over $1 billion in its internal studios as part of an ambitious long-term strategy, according to Wizards of the Coast head of game studios and publishing Dan Ayoub.

"Video games are an integral part of Hasbro's strategy going into the next 100 years and we have to make sure that everything that comes out is top quality, is authentic, and is something we can build upon,” explained Ayoub in an interview with gamesindustry.biz at the Game Developer’s Conference in March. “Because we're talking about a couple studios and a couple games right now, but we have much larger ambitions for that."

Hasbro’s IP licensing strategy has been extremely profitable for the toy-maker in recent years, with Larian Studio’s runaway hit Baldur’s Gate 3 netting the company an impressive $90 million on its own following its 2023 release. Despite this success, the multi-national conglomerate has invested huge amounts of money to establish a clutch of internal game development studios with which to handle its many IPs, and create entirely new ones.

"The biggest thing to takeaway, which is honestly a little surprise to a lot of people, is that Hasbro is in fact making video games," explained Ayoub. "And we have a considerable investment in our studio structure, we've got over $1 billion in games right now being developed."

According to the industry veteran, Hasbro's $1 billion investment in its four existing AAA studios is part of a “very, very deliberate plan”, which would incorporate facets of the company beyond game development.

Hasbro's current AAA stable includes the North Carolina-based studio Atomic Arcade, which is developing a G.I. Joe Snake Eyes game, and Invoke Studios, which is working on another title anchored in the Dungeons & Dragons universe. Skeleton Key, and Texas-based studio Archetype Entertainment round out the quartet, the latter of which is developing a brand new IP starring Matthew McConaughey called Exodus, which draws inspiration from both Mass