Hasbro, parent company of Wizards of the Coast (WotC), has released its First Quarter 2023 Financial Report.
Magic: The Gathering continues to be the top earner for Hasbro and is up 16 percent in the quarter despite Hasbro as a whole being down 14 percent. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said MTG was the standout performer strengthened by its new player growth, player engagement and player sentiment all pointing
in the right direction.
Some of the factors leading to MTG’s strong Q1 were a higher than expected performance of Phyrexia: All Will Be One, the Warhammer 40K Commander decks becoming one of the best-selling Commander decks in their fourth reprinting, and Modern Horizons 2 becoming MTG’s first $200 million set.
Cocks said Hasbro expects more positive momentum from MTG as the Universes Beyond product The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth is seeing one of the most successful preorders ever. That set will launch in late Q2, leading Hasbro to expect revenue for MTG to be down in Q2 but up solidly in Q3 and for the full year.
“It’s all about bringing in adjacent fandoms and appealing to that rabid fan base that loves Lord of the Rings who might also love a game like Magic,” Cocks said. “There is already a bunch of Magic fans who are big fantasy fans. They love Lord of the Rings and we see it as a great engagement opportunity for them and a special collectors experience.”
Cocks said Hasbro continues to be bullish on Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and what it has in store. The big focal point is on The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, a wise investment Cocks says is worth the costs for royalties and development when you consider the value of a new Magic player.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring in new players because when we attract a new Magic player they typically stick around for five to seven years and they have an average revenue per user in that time in the five hundred to a thousand dollar range,” Cocks said. “So giving up a little margin up front to attract a highly engaged, highly profitable fan segment, we think, is a nice tradeoff that helps us and helps our share holders win over the long term.”
Read the official first quarter 2023 financial report from Hasbro.