Hasbro, the parent company of Dungeons and Dragons owner Wizards of the Coast, is seemingly scaling back its video game ambitions. The company, which had initiated a plan in 2022 to become a major publisher, has already cancelled several of its projects and laid off many of their developers.
Now, Hasbro has recorded a $56m (£41.89m) write-down across its games portfolio, reaching all the way into 2028. The so-called impairment charge, which is another way of saying an owned asset has lost some of its value, was announced in a conference call for the company’s second quarter 2026 financial results.
Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks reiterated that while the company continues to be committed to game development, its priorities are changing moving forward. To that end, existing projects such as Mass Effect-like sci-fi RPG Exodus, and the recently announced Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons remain in development. Hasbro has not, however, addressed the G.I. Joe Snake Eyes game, which it said in February hasn’t been cancelled following the closure of its developer.
“Over the last several quarters, we have reviewed our portfolio and updated our plans for Hasbro’s digital future,” said Cocks. “That work included cancelling several games scheduled for release in 2028 and beyond and recording a $56m non-cash write down this quarter for related capitalised costs.”
Hasbro is shifting its game development priorities to focus on major owned franchises, and partners where it sees “the clearest upside and where Hasbro has the strongest right to win,” Cocks told investors.
Cocks cited Magic: The Gathering Arena, Monopoly Go, and Baldur’s Gate 3 as examples of incredibly successful games in their niche. He also confirmed that Exodus and Warlock remain on track for a 2027 release, and that they have both “entered their finishing phases”.
“Exodus extends our role-playing strength into science fiction. Warlock expands on one of the most popular classes in D&D,” he added. “Both meet the bar we are setting for owned publishing: big audience potential, strong genre fit, franchise potential and meaningful opportunities beyond the initial game.”
Hasbro’s future strategy in digital publishing will also move away from what Cocks referred to as “lower-conviction projects”, and will see the company “reducing our annual spend base and concentrating investment behind the places where Hasbro has the best chance to build durable digital franchises: Magic, D&D, owned platforms, partner-led economics and a concentrated number of high-conviction owned titles,” he went on.
Over the last several years, Hasbro has cancelled a number of announced and unannounced projects. One of the higher-profile cancellations was the next game from God of War 3 and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order director Stig Asmussen. Asmussen founded a new studio, Giant Skull, in 2024, and it was developing a single-player D&D action game. The good news is that the team is still pitching new projects to Wizards of the Coast, while it continues to search for another publisher.
Despite being one of its biggest games, a sequel to Baldur’s Gate 3 remains conspicuously absent. The publisher has been “talking to lots of partners” for over two years, but nothing materialised. More recently, an Exodus developer revealed the company floated the idea of getting the team to work on Baldur’s Gate 4, which they shot down.
