drivethrurpg Archives

November 4, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

28 October–3 November 2019: Digital Platforms, RPGs in Asia, Asia in RPGs

This week we learn that Wizards of the Coast is pushing further into the digital D&D space, purchasing a computer games studio that is already working on a Dungeons & Dragons game. In other digital news, a number of OneBookShelf accounts have been hacked, Roll20’s industry report shows movement in the top 10 RPGs, and…

October 28, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 5 comments

7–27 October 2019: Essen, Licensed Games, Werewolf 5th Edition

We’re back after a short holiday, and although things have been relatively quiet, the news has built up. Let’s dive in! We get a glimpse of the small but growing presence of RPGs at the Essen Spiel convention. There’s some talk about the past, present, and future of Intellectual Property and Licenses in RPGs. And…

October 7, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 2 comments

30 September–6 October 2019: Wendy’s & Critical Role; DriveThru Reconsiders; Kickstarter

Welcome to the first week of October 2019 where the biggest news of the week is a fast-food chain publishing its own RPG. The road to the mainstream was never going to be all blockbuster movies and celebrity endorsements, but we definitely didn’t see this one coming. That may be the most contentious story this…

September 30, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

23–29 September 2019: Ugh.

The news is certainly thorny this week, containing a smorgasbord of grim news, a cornucopia of ugh. For starters, Zak Smith is back in the news. Smith has been in the spotlight numerous times over various allegations of harassment, abuse, and assault. This week, his long-time collaborators have published a book defending him, and it’s…

August 18, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

12–18 August 2019: IP Law, Cameos, Eberron

The post-Gen Con quiet continues, and this week we have a slim update with a handful of articles and Kickstarters. We have IP law, a distributor monopoly, designers appearing in their own games, a new Dungeons & Dragons campaign, non-human ethnicities in Pathfinder, a whole lot of bundles, the pre-apocalypse, digital dice, and more! Like…

July 21, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

15–21 July 2019: Crowdfunding Growth; Diana Jones Awards; Female Dwarves

It has been another quiet week as Gen Con slowly, inexorably approaches. For that reason, it’s probably a good illustration of what ‘normal’ looks like for the industry right now: a growing market, a ton of new product announcements, a convention scandal, a notable TV adaptation, traditionalists getting miffed about female dwarves, gaming celebrities, and…

March 18, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

11–17 March 2019: Adapting RPGs, Remembering Larry DiTillio, Cthulhu in Australia and Japan

This week we see a host of announcements related to adaptations: RPGs being made into movies, movies being made into RPGs, RPGs into computer games, miniature-lines into RPGs, and so on. We get some reminiscences on Larry DiTillio’s work at Chaosium, and on the global reach of Chaosium’s Call of Cthulhu. In addition, we have…

March 3, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

25 February–3 March 2019: Project Alpha closes, Ghosts of Saltmarsh announced, Facebook takes on Patreon

This week we see some big changes in the world of actual play streaming, some new digital platforms (the good, the bad, and the ugly) which could be relevant to gamers, and a whole host of new product announcements (including a large number from Wizards of the Coast). Streaming Streaming network, Project Alpha, is shutting…

February 11, 2019 by Amy Goodenough 0 comments

4-10 February 2019: Corporations, Digital Dragons, Greg Stafford on Quora

The Companies Behind the Games Hasbro, parent company of Wizards of the Coast, releases its Fourth Quarter and Full Year Reports for 2018, reporting a 12% net revenue decline across the board (largely due to the loss of Toys ‘R’ Us), including a 12% decline in revenue from their Gaming products. Their Dungeons and Dragons…