![]() ![]() Not all of those people are using the 5th Edition rules, but by all available indicators it has ended the Edition Wars. And that’s exactly what WotC has asserted: according to the company’s estimates in 2017 there were 12-15 million people playing D&D in North America alone, making D&D more popular now than at any other time in its history. ![]() None of this gives us a perfect picture of actual books in the hands of players, but it’s not a stretch to say that there are more D&D players than ever before. You’re Gonna Be So Cool Now, It’s Ridiculous But 44 percent isn’t a jump, it’s a leap. “Brand” encompasses everything D&D-related, from rulebooks to minis to revenues from t-shirts and other licensed products. According to WotC, in 2017 the D&D brand had a 44 percent sales growth over 2016. That’s less likely when you take into account the enormous growth since that 2016 Mearls tweet. So it’s possible that in sheer unit sales 5th Edition has outsold versions 3, 3,5, and 4, but not AD&D 1 and 2, or any of the beginner boxed sets. And 5th Edition books are priced higher than those of earlier versions. One 1982 dollar, for example, is worth $2.57 in 2017 dollars. Inflation and pricing are factors, though. TSR kept poor records, but WotC is confident the 2017 figures are also higher than any from the TSR era (1974-’97). Previous editions had print runs of three years (3ed), five years (3.5ed) and six years (4ed) respectively.īut how does this compare to the glory days of the early 1980s? According to WotC, 2017 was the best D&D sales year in the company’s history. This was particularly impressive because at the time of the Mearls tweet 5th Edition had only been in print for two years. In 2016 Mike Mearls of WotC tweeted: “5e lifetime PHB sales > 3, 3.5, 4 lifetime,” meaning that the 5th Edition Player’s Handbook had by then outsold each of the previous versions (not including AD&D 1 & 2, for which WotC did not have exact figures). Whether 5th Edition D&D’s rules are wonderful or terrible in relation to its forbears is a question outside the scope of this inquiry. ![]() Please also note that this is not an examination of the subjective qualities of the game itself. That said, I have wherever possible avoided anecdotal evidence in favor of hard numbers. Note that I’m not an industry insider, and I only had access to publicly-available information. I wanted to dig into this question a bit to satisfy my own curiosity. In the four and a half years since then 5th Edition has obviously put Dungeons & Dragons back at the top of tabletop roleplaying sales. It’s undoubtedly selling well, but how well? Wizards of the Coast (WotC) released the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons on a rolling schedule in 2014, starting with the beginner boxed set in June and culminating with the the Dungeon Master’s Guide in December. ![]()
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