Hasbro under the microscope: adult gamers and Monoly Digital to boost revenue

On the one hand, to further develop digital versions of iconic games. On the other, to strengthen – alongside a focus on the best-known brands – distribution and licensing partnerships. All this whilst expanding the business to target a mature audience and through direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales. These are among the priorities of Hasbro – as set out in the latest 2025–2027 business plan – to support the business.

Yes, its business. But what, specifically, is the US group’s corporate purpose? The company divides its revenue into three areas. The first – the most significant in terms of turnover (522 million dollars in the second quarter of 2025) – is Wizards & Digital Gaming. This division is home to two major brands: ‘Magic: The Gathering’, based on collectable cards, and ‘Dungeons & Dragons’, a role-playing game with a huge global following. Then there are the other digitally developed products. The second area, on the other hand, is the so-called Consumer Products ($442 million in revenue). This division encompasses long-established, mass-market brands such as: Transformers, Nerf, Play-Doh, My Little Pony and Monopoly. Furthermore, it is the division responsible for physical production, overall distribution and retail channels. Finally, the third area: Entertainment (turnover of 16 million). This division, which has been significantly reduced following the sale of eOne, focuses on brand licensing for cinema, TV and streaming, leveraging the group’s various intellectual properties (such as Transformers and Peppa Pig) through agreements with third-party partners.

Well, one of the top priorities – as it happens – is to focus more on the online development of several games from Hasbro’s catalogue. A few examples? Monopoly Go!, the mobile/social version of the well-known board game ‘battle’ between property investors, which has enjoyed considerable success. Although developed with external partners, this solution contributed 44 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2025. But that’s not all. It is worth noting – even if this is not a recent development – the central role played by Wizards of the Coast in bridging the gap between analogue games and the internet. Thus, as early as 2019–2019, the ‘Magic: The Gathering Arena’ platform was launched – the digital version of the card game, initially for PCs and later released on smartphones. In general, the convergence of physical and digital elements is a key strategy. Hasbro can either develop the online version of the analogue game in-house (as in the case of the main version of ‘Magic: The Gathering’) or licence its board games to video game developers (for example, with ‘Monopoly Go!’). In the first scenario, the company bears all the costs – and risks – of developing and promoting the game but, in effect, reaps all the revenue generated by it. In the second, however, it does not assume the business risk and simply collects the agreed royalties. In either case, the toy multinational – in addition to generating revenue – expands its player base, forging ever-stronger ties with the relevant communities.

But it is not just about digitalisation. Another focus is on strengthening the role of partnerships. In other words: by concentrating its operations on franchises with the highest returns (from Transformers to Monopoly), the group aims to pass on the less appealing products to licensees or third-party partners. This is an approach which, on the one hand, seeks to focus the company’s activities on specific, well-defined toys; and, on the other, attempts to reduce financial commitment where the return on investment is low or uncertain.

Yes, return on investment. It is precisely this that lies at the heart of a marked change the company has implemented in recent years. Historically, licensing – understood both as the use of its own brands by third parties and as the use of other companies’ IP in its own toys – has always been at the centre of the company’s strategy. So much so that, in 2019, Hasbro took a significant step: the acquisition of the film and television production studio EntertainmentOne (eOne) with a view to producing films, TV series and cartoons based on its own or other brands in-house. However, the high costs and risks associated with the media industry meant that the required return on investment was not achieved. Consequently, in 2023, Hasbro divested itself of (or rather, sold off) eOne. The aim? Once again: to focus on its core business (producing films, which is quite different from making toys) and to place greater emphasis on partnerships with third parties to carry out activities such as, precisely, the production of a TV series.