Hasbro has announced that Magic the Gathering has already beaten its record-breaking 2020, with 2021 already being the game's best-forming year ever.
Three sets in particular were highlighted as performing especially well, with Strixhaven: School of Mages and Modern Horizons 2 making Q2 2021 the best-performing quarter for the game. Meanwhile, Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms is "on track" to become the best-selling summer set of all time, when it will overtake last year's Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths.
On top of that, Hasbro's quarterly earnings call also discussed the impact of Magic the Gathering Arena on the franchise's revenue, with it being described as a "critical source of new players" to the game. When questioned about Arena's role in Magic's financial plans, Wizards of the Coast's CEO Chris Cocks said that, contrary to popular belief, Arena was not "cannibalising" the playerbase for the game, and instead served as part of a larger ecosystem, arguing that players were migrating both to and from tabletop play through Arena.
It was confirmed that, as of the end of Q3, 2021 had surpassed 2020 as being the game's most profitable ever. This is despite a number of products having not yet been released at the time, such as the Pioneer Challenger Decks 2021 and Innistrad: Crimson Vow. Even Innistrad: Midnight Hunt had only been out for a few days before the end of the quarter, and its performance wasn't commented upon by Wizards or Hasbro.
Hasbro is seemingly very happy with Wizards' performance, saying it is on track to double its 2018 revenue by the end of 2021, two years earlier than planned. Despite that, Hasbro did state that, company-wide, it is estimated to have lost approximately $100 million due to ongoing supply chain issues in the United States making meeting stock demands difficult. These problems are still ongoing, with Innistrad: Crimson Vow not likely to have set boosters available in stores in time for its launch next month.
This was the first quarterly conference call Hasbro has held since the shock death of former CEO Brian Goldner earlier this month. Interim CEO Rich Stoddart took time at the start of the call to commemorate Goldner, calling him a "visionary", saying he "changed the game completely", and could see "the potential for omnichannel storytelling and content built on powerful brands", likely referring to Goldner's role in making brands like Transformers and My Little Pony break out of the toy space and into movies and TV shows.
He also said that discussions on a successor to Goldner began before his death, noting it is part of the board's job to have those discussions open at all times. A new CEO wasn't announced in the call.