Re: WOTC 3D VTT team fired

On Wed, 19 Mar 2025 14:36:35 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson
<spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:

On Wed, 19 Mar 2025 09:56:04 +0100, Kyonshi <gmkeros@gmail.com> wrote:
>

https://bsky.app/profile/darjr.bsky.social/post/3lkp653jruk2b
>
So it seems WoTC launched their Sigil 3D VTT, and already has fired most
of the team developing it.
That seems odd.

>
Well, what need for keeping them on the payroll if the work is done?
Especially when AI can do the job just as good? All you really need to
do is keep around the C-levels responsible for hiring the next team,
right?
>
    [do I really need a /s ? Although given the industry, I
     do not doubt there really are people who think like that)
>
If I had to make a guess as to the why, it's probably because Hasbro
had already mentioned its intent to back away from software
development, but Sigil was already so long into development that they
just let it get to release first.
>
Sigil was also obviously intended to spur more interest in D&D Beyond
subscriptions (from what I recall, just to invite players to your
lobby you needed a Master Tier subscription) and if that didn't
happen, Hasbro may have decided the continued expense not worth it.

Aaaand... in fact, that's what it was. According to a recent article,*
"Our aspirations for Sigil as a larger, standalone game with a
distinct monetization path will not be realized." Furthermore, there
was, amongst Hasbro execs, a "distinct lack of interest" in the
project from the start.

Translated: 'We already paid a lot for this before we got bored, so
we'll finish it quick, shove it out the door, and if it makes a huge
splash maybe in promoting our other products maybe we'll keep it,
otherwise it'll be DOA'.

Which, pretty much, is how Hasbro has been treating the D&D brand from
the start. They don't understand what it is, don't understand why it's
popular, and don't understand what it's customers want. They keep
treating it like it's just another plastic toy to shill onto kids, but
it's definitively Not That.

I'm not really into virtual tabletop gaming, but I was considering
maybe -just maybe- I should invest in Sigil because, what with it
being the 'official' VTT of D&D, it might be useful to have around
(from what I read, the product itself wasn't too bad). But Hasbro's
usual hamfisted handling has protected from another useless purchase.



* linkie-link
https://www.pcgamer.com/games/hasbro-pushed-sigil-out-of-the-nest-d-and-ds-latest-layoffs-happened-because-the-distinct-monetization-path-for-its-virtual-tabletop-sigil-never-materialized/