Dungeons & Dragons Refutes Report of Tencent Purchase

Wizards of the Coast is refuting a report that Chinese conglomerate Tencent is looking to purchase the Dungeons & Dragons IP. Yesterday, a Chinese site reported that Tencent was looking to purchase the Dungeons & Dragons IP from Hasbro, which was considering the sale due to its recent shaky financials. This morning, a Wizards of the Coast spokesperson provided the following statement to ComicBook.com, making clear that the D&D IP was not for sale. "We regularly talk to Tencent and enjoy multiple partnerships with them across a number of our IPs," the statement reads. "We don't make a habit of commenting on internet rumors, but to be clear: we are not looking to sell our D&D IP. We will keep talking to partners about how we bring the best digital experiences to our fans. We won't comment any further on speculation or rumors about potential M&A or licensing deals."

The report, while admittedly shaky and contradictory at times, set off a furor in the tabletop gaming industry when it was posted early Wednesday morning. Tencent is a partial owner of Larian Studios, the maker of Baldur's Gate 3, as well as several other game studios. Although Tencent owns the League of Legends IP through its whole ownership of Riot Games, Tencent's typical business pattern is to purchase game studios, not IPs outright. Additionally, the rumor seemed to parrot a speculative video posted by the Roll for Combat YouTube channel several weeks ago almost point for point.

Dungeons & Dragons is anticipated to have a big year, with the game celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The D&D design team is preparing to release a new set of Core Rulebooks, with revised rules for Fifth Edition based on a years-long playtest.