Parachute Fund for WotC employees looking to leave

[bedir than]

A couple billion dollars could probably effect a hostile takeover of Hasbro though.

Hasbro is worth about ten billion dollars

 

[Benjamin Olson]

Hasbro is worth about ten billion dollars

Closer to 9 billion, but I know. I was figuring on 20%ish as being sufficient as a voting block to lead a shareholder revolt and get the revolt leader's preferred board of directors installed, not as being 51% of the company or whatever. Actual majority ownership is rarely necessary to gain effective control of a publicly traded corporation.

But the OP has already expressed their preference for the thread to not be about pie-in-the-sky Hasbro takeovers, so that's all I'll say.

 

[Yaarel]

Blue skying here. Feel free to shoot this down as a stupid idea.

WotC/Hasbro is clearly abusive to their employees who actually care about the game. Is there any way we could crowdsource a Parachute Fund for the designers, developers, and artists so that they can resign without endangering their livelihoods? What would that require?

I ask partly because we’ve already cancelled our subscriptions and it wasn’t enough. I’d like to find a way to shout louder in a language WotC understands.

This is a great idea.

At the same time, what people need is a way to gain sustenance in years to come.

Maybe when the ORC license comes out, the former WotC employees can en-masse resign and form their own corporation using the ORC license.

This new corporation would get much cred from the gaming community, and hopefully prosper.

 

[xiphumor]

This is a great idea.

At the same time, what people need is a way to gain sustenance in years to come.

Maybe when the ORC license comes out, the former WotC employees can en-masse resign and form their own corporation using the ORC license.

This new corporation would get much cred from the gaming community, and hopefully prosper.

Granted, but I’m also not expecting all of these people to get new jobs in game design. I would love to see it, but I don’t think that should be the goal.

I quit teaching a few months ago. It was my third time quitting the same school network (which had a fantastic culture, if sub-par pay). I came back twice because I needed income and didn’t have the resources to push the search further. I wonder how things might have been different if I had the resources to move forward on the first or second try. I’d bet money that for a good number of these employees, all they’re looking for is the right moment to leave, and we can offer it to them.

 

[Clint_L]

WotC/Hasbro is clearly abusive to their employees who actually care about the game.

Did I miss a thing? What abuse happened?

 

[GreyLord]

Good idea.

Also ... how much money would we have to raise for Paizo to buy D&D from Hasbro?

I don't believe Hasbro generally sells their stuff. They are more likely to shelve something for later (or forever) rather than sell, at least from what I understand.

IF something were to sell I think the rule is to take the profits and then extend it to 5 years out, so if something took in 50 million last year, than a reasonable offer would be 250 million. Considering that it's HASBRO you are going to have to go above and beyond that mark. I would say nothing under 500 million to a billion at this point in time...if they were to even CONSIDER it.

It could go up as high as 5 - 8 Billion currently...IF they even consider it (which I highly doubt). You're going to have to offer something crazy for them to think about even doing that...and even then...

And that's a wild stab in the dark.

As I said, I think they are more likely to shelve it or dwindle it (for example, there are franchises that were basically very small items being released very slowly in certain toylines when they were almost extinct until they were resurrected again later) rather than sell it.

(Edit PS: They HAVE been known to license things out occasionally, things that have no hope of ever selling or that they see would be a waste for them to market. That would probably be far more likely than selling, but I feel D&D would have to flop and flop hard before that would even be a consideration).

 

[mcmillan]

Did I miss a thing? What abuse happened?

The experience of Orion Black was the most detailed D&D 5E - Orion Black No Longer a D&D Designer [UPDATED!]
I remember hearing similar stories coming out on the Magic side of wotc but am not as into that side to know names to look up. There's also been stories like dndbeyond employees having their work being dismissed coming out and seeing some comments from other former employees suggesting that was a common attitude from higher ups. WotC - Ex D&D Beyond Staffers Criticize Relationship With WotC

 

[Umbran]

WotC/Hasbro is clearly abusive to their employees who actually care about the game.

If they were "clearly abusive" that's a thing for courts to deal with.

 

[Dimitri Mazieres]

There's this tweet by DnD Shorts

 

[bedir than]

There's this tweet by DnD ShortsView attachment 272653

DnD Shorts admits that's not a quote at all. They admit to taking quotes and reworking them through a "paraphraser" supposedly to protect identity, but what that also does is allow them to pick the version of the no-longer-a-quote that fits their agenda.

It's not journalism and shouldn't be treated as such.