© Hasbro/Frederic Legrand – COMEO/Shutterstock.com
It all started with a simple tweet: “How much is Hasbro?”. That seemingly innocuous question was enough to send the company's stock soaring 2%, further demonstrating the billionaire's considerable influence on the markets.
The reason for Hasbro's sudden attention ? Recent developments in Dungeons & Dragons, including dropping the term “race” in favor of “species” and including minority characters, have sparked ire among American conservatives. Jason Tondro, D&D project manager at Hasbro, explained the changes as a desire to expand the game's universe to make it more inclusive. A direction that seems unbearable in the eyes of Elon Musk.
After X and video games, Elon Musk attacks pop culture
The potential acquisition of Hasbro would represent much more than just control of D&D. With a market capitalization of $9 billion, the company has an impressive portfolio of cult franchises, including Transformers, My Little Pony, and Monopoly. Not to mention the recent phenomenal success of Baldur’s Gate 3, developed under the D&D license, which brought in $90 million in licensing fees.
The potential acquisition is part of a larger project by Elon Musk. The billionaire has announced plans to create a video game studio under the banner of his startup xAI. His slogan is: Make games great again, a clear nod to Donald Trump's famous slogan. Musk's plans for Hasbro, if they come to fruition, could include integrating innovative technologies like artificial intelligence and augmented reality into traditional games. However, the prospect worries many longtime fans, who fear their favorite franchises will become a playground for the billionaire's ideological experiments.
- Elon Musk considers buying Hasbro, sending the company's stock up 2%
- His primary motivation: to counter the “woke” direction taken by Dungeons & Dragons in recent years
- The potential acquisition is part of a broader strategy that includes the creation of an ’anti-woke” video game studio
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