D&D Beyond Changes

[Oramac]

When Blizzard's WoW came out, that game was $15 per month. Not sure what it costs now.

It's still $15 per month. I've been playing for more than a decade, and $15 a month is about the max I'd pay for it. Maybe $20. $30/month for DDB is just insane.

I'm guessing here, but I think they've concluded that the hardcopy tabletop publishing model has peaked. There's only so many copies of the hardcovers they can sell and the cost of selling hardcopies is increasing so profit margins are decreasing. The old customer base will continue to get hardcopies, at least for a few years, just after the electronic publishing (not before or simultaneously).

snip

Honestly, this is probably right. Newer players (say, under 25 years old) by and large will be accessing this stuff on their phones the vast majority of the time. I DM for a group ranging from 13-18 years old. The only reason they have a paper character sheet is because I make them have one, and I limit electronics at the table as much as possible. My players hate books (very sad) and hate writing even more.

It's not a stretch at all to say that in the next 10-ish years or so, all play will be handled electronically. I don't like it, but it makes sense. But if that is WOTC's plan, they need to get their asses in gear and learn how to create and publish quality content much faster than they currently do.