2019 was Dungeons & Dragons best year in history

by Jim Smale · Published April 22, 2020 · Updated April 22, 2020

Wizards of the Coast are proud to announce that 2019 was the most successful in Dungeons & Dragons 46 years of franchise history. To celebrate, the company has created an infographic illustrating the growth of the brand in recent years and the success of 2019, including that in Europe. The infographic also highlights upcoming product launches and the roadmap for 2020 and beyond. As more people turn to online entertainment, the brand is poised for another fantastic year, with consumer interest at an all-time high right now.

Dungeons & Dragons has always been a pop culture staple, offering fans opportunities for storytelling and adventuring with friends, two fundamental human needs. In recent years, it has been massively propelled forward thanks to the combination of appearances in mainstream TV shows like South Park and Community as well as the growth of the livestreaming ecosystem, with widely popular liveplay shows like Critical Role, or High Rollers and Oxventure in the UK. The legendary tabletop game continues to increase in popularity: Dungeons & Dragons now has over 40 million fans worldwide, with a community that continues to grow and diversify daily!

Here’s a summary of Dungeons & Dragons 2019 key figures:

6th consecutive year of growth.
17.5 Billion media impressions.
Sales of introductory boxed products rose by 300 percent.
Viewers watched 4.3 Billion minutes of D&D content on Twitch.
2 Million people tuned in to D&D Live 2019.
39 percent of players identify as female and this percentage is growing.
Sales in Europe increased 65% year-on-year, and have more than quadrupled since 2014!

“On the back of our biggest year in franchise history, Dungeons & Dragons is more popular than ever, with over 40 million fans globally. Our accelerating strong growth here in Europe contributes to that and is set to progress in 2020. With ongoing expansion into tabletop products, streaming entertainment, and digital games, we’re going to continue introducing new fans to our legendary world of fantasy storytelling for years to come.”, says Dan Barrett, EU Senior Brand Manager for Dungeons & Dragons.

Thanks to regular TRPG releases, and multiple video games including Baldur’s Gate III and Dark Alliance on the horizon, Dungeons & Dragons is not slowing down any time soon and continues to dominate as one of the most successful fantasy franchises ever.