Hasbro stock climbed Friday after Elon Musk mused about buying the toy making powerhouse for the rights to Dungeons & Dragons. The day prior, Musk announced plans to start his own artificial intelligence video game studio.
Telsa and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is an avid video game player, previously touting on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast that he ranks top 20 in the world for Diablo 4. Now, Musk appears to be adding video games to his production portfolio.
Musk on Nov. 27 responded to a post on his social media platform X, which complained about "manipulative bs" going on in the gaming industry.
"Too many game studios that are owned by massive corporations," Musk wrote in a quoted post. "xAI is going to start an AI game studio to make games great again!"
Musk Eyes Dungeons & Dragons, Hasbro Acquisition
And Musk seems to want the rights to Dungeons & Dragons for the upcoming game studio. The tabletop role playing game is owned by Hasbro's Wizards of The Coast division and was created by Gary Gygax.
On Nov. 22, Musk responded to a post complaining about the Dungeons & Dragons 40th Anniversary "Making of Dungeons & Dragons" book. The poster alleged the book's forward "slams the original creators and attempts to distance themselves," from examples of sexism, cultural appropriation, and other problematic tropes within the original worldbuilding from the 1970s.
"Nobody, and I mean nobody, gets to trash E. Gary Gygax and the geniuses who created Dungeons & Dragons," Musk replied. "What the f*** is wrong with Hasbro and WOTC?? May they burn in hell."
Musk's response created uproar among his audience and fans.
Jason Tondro, a project lead for D&D, separately explained the changes were made out of consideration for progressives and underrepresented groups that would take issue with the older language of D&D. Tondro said he did not expect the backlash to come from older players, but dismissed their concerns.
Tondro responded to an online question about the backlash saying, "I don't take those critiques seriously even now. I consider those people not worth listening to, so I didn't anticipate their 'outrage'."
A screenshot of Tondro's exchange was posted on X on Nov. 27.
Musk responded, "How much is Hasbro?" on Nov. 28, though he did not elaborate on any acquisition plans.
If Musk were to acquire the toy maker, he would also purchase the rights to Transformers, My Little Pony, Nerf, Monopoly, and a host of other gaming IP.
Hasbro has already experienced massive success with Dungeon's & Dragons video games. The company reportedly generated $90 million from its Baldur's Gate 3 licensing deal with Larian Studios, Hasbro announced during its February earnings call. Meanwhile, Baldur's Gate 3 has won at least 32 awards since launch, including the 2023 Game of The Year.
Hasbro Stock
HAS stock swung about 2% higher in Friday's shortened trading session after Musk's post.
Shares have rebounded 26% this year after falling 16% in 2023.
Hasbro stock has a marketcap around $9 billion, according to MarketSurge data.
You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on X/Twitter @IBD_Harrison
