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In 2009, Hasbro made a big bet and got into the movie business. That came shortly after the mega-hit that was 2007's Transformers movie by Michael Bay, which encouraged Hasbro to not just license out its franchies like Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Dungeons and Dragons, but to get into the movie business themselves - making the decisions, hiring the talent, and paying for it with their own money.

After 16 years and multiple burns in Transformers One and Dungeons & Dragon: Honor Among Thieves, in December Hasbro completed a deal to get out of the movie business themselves - and instead rely on studios coming to them with offers and guaranteed money to make films based on their work. This includes Netflix financing a Magic: The Gathering TV series, Skydance bankrolling a new G.I. Joe movie as well as a Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie, and Lionsgate working on a live-action Monopoly movie with Margot Robbie attached. 

Hasbro isn't withdrawing to make toys, action figures, and board games, however - it just was burned by the movie & TV business. Instead, its putting its own money - $1 billion according to Bloomberg - into video games based on Hasbro franchises.

“We want to reach fans where they want to play, and increasingly that is through digital expressions of their favorite brands,” Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks tells Bloomberg's Cecilia D'Anastasio.

Cocks, back when was solely in charge of Hasbro's Magic: The Gathering brand, pushed for the ultra-successful mobile- and PC-Game Magic: The Gathering Arena. Now in charge of the complete Hasbro businss, he comes in the video game Monopoly Go brought in $105 million in 2024, and Baldur's Gate 3 earned $90 million in just its first six months.

Hasbro's video game future includes an original game called Exodus from some of those involved with Baldur's Gate, as well as games for Dungeons & Dragons, G.I. Joe, and a second Magic: The Gathering game based on the success of Marvel Snap. Hasbro plans to release one to two major video games a year by 2026.

While it might seem like a stretch, Hasbro as you know it was made from these kinds of stretches - when they first started, they sold textile remnants, and didn't get into the toy business until 20 years later.

Talk about transforming.

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