Wizards of the Coast announced today that Dungeon & Dragons books will be priced 20% higher starting with the upcoming sourcebook Bigby Presents: Glory to the Giants. Going forward, physical versions of Dungeons & Dragons books will cost $59.95 instead of $49.95, marking the first price increase the game maker has announced in nine years.
Wizards said the price change will be for physical books released before the upcoming Giants expansion, citing the rising costs associated with producing new books and the desire to make future projects the best possible. added that it does not affect Also, the digital version of the sourcebook will not be affected and will remain at the current MSRP indefinitely.
Wizards has confirmed that there will be new pricing for upcoming products, such as the Planescape expansion, which is set to release on October 17th, but not for the revised Core 5E rulebook due in 2024. did not comment.
The upcoming Glory of the Giants sourcebook will be the first expansion to sell at a higher price.
Impact on expensive hobbies
Tabletop hobby prices are already high due to regular releases of dice, miniatures, accessories and new rulebooks. Modern subscription services like D&D Beyond do not require players to pay monthly to access digital goods and services. . This price increase for future physics books could increase the barrier to entry for cost-conscious players and game masters.
When asked what impact the price increase might have on the accessibility of the game, Wizards said that the 2024 update will continue to be backward compatible with existing 5E materials and that digital pricing will change. It is expected that it will not be helpful.
A Wizards of the Coast spokesperson told IGN, “Going forward, the new prices will only apply to new products, the ability to carry over existing books will help, and digital prices will not increase.”
Hobby pricing has always been a hot topic within the D&D community, but this price increase has caused third-party D&D content creators who are understandably reluctant to raise their prices beyond what Wizards charges for their books. could be welcome news. The new prices may reduce the argument for D&D partners to price their products higher to achieve comparable prices.
Sigil and Outlands will also be affected by price increases later this year.
5e superiority
A wide variety of tabletop RPGs can be found in most hobby shops around the world, but Dungeons & Dragons, especially the 5th Edition rules used in the game, completely dominate that space, with the majority serves as an accessible stepping stone to collaborative storytelling for players of . As such, many of his 5E third parties, his creators, and even competitors, are looking to D&D as a pricing arbiter for TTRPG products, and are wary of raising prices above those of industry leaders.
D&D’s dominance is likely to continue as Wizards prepares a ton of new content for the second half of the year and a major update to all core rulebooks in 2024.
Disclosure: This news story was obtained during a recent Dungeons & Dragons event hosted by Wizards of the Coast. IGN’s airfare and lodging expenses were covered by Wizards of the Coast as part of the event.
Travis Northup is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @TieGuyTravis and read his Click here for the game article.
