Hasbro's Adult Fans Power a ‘Magic' 16% Sales Jump

Hasbro’s strongest growth in the second quarter came from an audience most toy companies chase last: adult collectors, hobby gamers and longtime fans.

For example, revenue in the Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment increased 27%, led by the Magic: The Gathering trading card franchise.

“Magic fans play and collect for years because mastery never ends,” CEO Chris Cocks said on the company’s second quarter earnings call Tuesday (July 21).

That fan base is now reshaping Hasbro’s digital strategy. The company is cutting $56 million in games that no longer meet its investment thresholds and doubling down on the platforms its most loyal fans already use.

The platforms staying in the lineup—Magic: The Gathering Arena, Baldur’s Gate 3, Dungeons and Dragons Beyond and two new titles set for 2027 (Exodus, a sci-fi role-playing game and Warlock, a Dungeons & Dragons expansion)—are built for the fans driving Hasbro’s revenue growth today.

On the cost side, Hasbro is also shifting more development work to lower-cost regions, with Montreal emerging as its primary hub, and total digital spending is expected to fall at least 25% annually by 2028.

Some of those savings are funding CharacterOS, Hasbro’s behavioral licensing platform, which turns Hasbro characters into digital avatars and interactive experiences that fans can license directly.

Internally, Hasbro calls this strategy GEM Squared: gamified, entertainment-driven, multi-purchase and multi-generational.

In plain terms, it means designing products built for adults who grew up with the brand and never left it.

That customer is showing up across every category. Magic: The Gathering revenue grew 32% in the second quarter, and the Marvel Super Heroes set became the fastest release in the game’s history to reach $300 million, setting records for both day-one and month-one sales.

Distribution grew by double digits across hobby stores, mass retail and international markets, with hobby stores now accounting for roughly 70% of Magic sales, mass retail about 20% and international markets the remaining 10%.

The adult-focused push extends beyond gaming. Blooms by Play-Doh, a new line aimed at adult crafters, sold out at major retailers within 24 hours of launch, Cocks said.

A multi-year licensing deal with Nintendo to develop Legend of Zelda products will begin appearing in 2027.

“Retailers are leaning in and are pretty eager for more product in those GEM Squared categories,” Cocks said.

A March cyberattack cost Hasbro less than the company had feared. Lost revenue came in at approximately $25 million, well below the prior forecast of $40 million to $60 million, and operations were fully restored ahead of schedule.

Twelve Hasbro characters are already available for licensing pilots through CharacterOS, spanning digital avatars, customer support tools and location-based entertainment.

On the broader cost side, Hasbro’s cost transformation program contributed $70 million in the first half against a full-year commitment of $150 million, helping offset higher input costs, royalties and digital inves...