Hasbro D&D Layoffs, Fantasy High 3 Release Date, Baldur's Gate 3 Xbox - TTRPG News 12/13/2023

It’s another week of tabletop RPG news, and it’s not so great this time. While Dimension 20 has something fun in store as usual, another bad Hasbro decision has the D&D creative community suffering. And it’s just when the Dungeons & Dragons brand is supposed to be at its best thanks to the success of Baldur’s Gate 3. Let’s get into the details with StartPlaying TTRPG news. 

Hasbro Cuts High Profile D&D Artists And Designers As Part of 1,100 Layoffs

Works from all departments of D&D and Magic: The Gathering were suddenly laid off this week as part of a massive cost-cutting measure at Hasbro. The toy brand struggled throughout the past year, reports Dicebreaker, so 1,100 staff were laid off to compensate. Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks gave his condolences in an internal memo but also said that the slew of job cuts was “a lever we must pull to keep Hasbro healthy.” 

Many of the now-unemployed took to social media to announce the news and share their emotions. This showed that layoffs went across the board, from digital departments to the team that designs physical D&D and MTG products. Senior editors, beloved designers, art directors, digital producers, communications managers and more all find themselves laid off so shortly before the holidays. 

Friends are posting to raise awareness and get these talented folks new jobs, yet it just goes to show how bizarre a move this was on Hasbro’s part. D&D and MTG are solid sources of profit for Hasbro. Letting go of a large number of the most skilled workers in those brands will no doubt hurt their earning potential in the long run. But I am simply a new writer, perhaps these matters are best left to multimillion dollar CEOs. 

Dimension 20's Fantasy High Returns For Junior Year In January

Dropout revealed a trailer and release date for the third season of Dimension 20 Fantasy High. The Bad Kids will once again unite to face danger and classes under the watch of DM Brennan Lee Mulligan. The season will premiere on January 10 at 7pm EST and run for 20 episodes. Those needing to catch up can find the first two seasons of Fantasy High for free on YouTube. 

Baldur's Gate 3 Available On Xbox After Winning Game Awards

The hit D&D-based video game Baldur's Gate 3 got its loot at The Game Awards. The title took home six trophies including the big Game of the Year award. Neil Newbon also won an award for Best Performance for his role as Astarion. There was an issue with the Game Awards playing cutoff music too early into many acceptance speeches this year, so the Larian team didn’t get the chance to announce that BG3 is now available on Xbox. A later tweet confirmed the launch, however, so now Xbox owners can join in on the adventure. 

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That’s all for this week. Best of luck to the recently laid off workers, hopefully you land somewhere stable soon.