In Hasbro’s first quarter earnings call this morning, CEO Brian Goldner revealed that Wizards of the Coast and Digital revenue was up 15% when compared to Q1 2020. This is the first time Hasbro is reporting its earnings in its new structure with Wizards as a division (rather than a subsidiary) of Hasbro.
Wizards’ first quarter revenues grew to $242 million in 2021, up 15% from the same period in 2020, while it’s operating profit grew to $110 million. The resulted in an operating profit margin of 45.4% for the quarter.
Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming revenue and profits for Q1 2021. (Source: Hasbro’s investor presentation.)
Goldner said that both Magic: the Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons were up “double digits” in the quarter. This growth was powered by Kaldheim, which was Magic’s “biggest” Winter set ever.
Magic: the Gathering Arena, which launched on both iOS and Android in Q1, saw its revenue was grow 24% when compared to Q1 2020. Goldner said that 3.5 billion games have been played on Arena since its official release in September 2019 and that users are averaging nine hours/week playing the game.
When asked if digital Magic was competing with tabletop Magic for customer’s money and attention, Goldner pushed back, saying that “there is no cannibalization” between digital and tabletop Magic. In fact, he continued, tabletop Magic is performing “incredibly well” even though most people can’t play together in-person.
This is Hasbro’s first earnings report after its massive reorganization late last year, which converted Wizards of the Coast from a subsidiary of Hasbro into a division and saw Wizards take responsibility for Hasbro’s digital initiatives. Wizards’ strong Q1 2021 performances comes after a record-breaking 2020 in which they generated $816 million in revenue, a 23% year over year increase from 2019.