Weekly News Digest #10

Hasbro Sheds Debt as Wizards of the Coast Hits $2.2B Digital Milestone

US-based games, IP, and toy company Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) has priced a $400m public offering of 4.65% senior unsecured notes due 2031, with net proceeds of ~$397m. Closing is expected on or about Mar 12, 2026. Proceeds will primarily redeem Hasbro’s 3.55% notes due Nov’26 ($497m outstanding), reducing net principal by ~$97m and extending the nearest maturity wall by five years. S&P Global Ratings assigned a ‘BBB’ investment-grade rating with a stable outlook on Mar 5, 2026. BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan, Citi, and Scotia Capital served as joint book-runners. The refinancing strengthens Hasbro’s balance sheet alongside record FY’25 revenue of ~$2.2B from the Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment (WotC), up 44.7% YoY.

The debt originates from Hasbro’s acquisition of Entertainment One (eOne) in Dec’19 for ~$4B, which proved value-destructive and was partly resolved when Hasbro sold the eOne Film & TV arm to Lionsgate in Aug’23 for ~$500m. The Mar’26 refinancing closes the final chapter on that legacy overhang. Hasbro shares surged from $96.76 to $104.00 on Feb 10, 2026 (FY’25 earnings release), then closed at $95.37 on the notes pricing day (Mar 5, 2026).

At the group level, Hasbro reported FY’25 revenue of ~$4.7B (+13.7%), adjusted EBITDA of ~$1.36B, and operating cash flow of $893m. The Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming division has become Hasbro’s primary powerhouse, accounting for 46.5% of total group revenue and maintaining a lean 46% operating margin in 2025. WotC’s expansion more than offset a 4.2% contraction in revenue for the Consumer Products and Entertainment segments (from ~$2.6B to ~$2.5B), driven mostly by heavy tariff expenses in Q3’25.

• WotC segment revenue reached $2.2B (+44.7%), lifting its share of group revenue from 37% to 47%; within the segment, Tabletop Gaming represented 77% of revenue in FY’25 (up from ~69% in FY’24) and Digital & Licensed Gaming 23% (up +6% YoY to $500m).
• Adjusted operating profit rose to $1B from $632m (+59%); WotC contributed 88% of the group’s ~$1.14B adjusted operating profit in FY’25, versus 92% of $690m in FY’24.
• The segment’s dominance was fueled by a 62% surge in Tabletop Gaming revenue ($1.69B), which effectively counteracted a 4.2% revenue decline in the “Other Group” categories ($2.51B) and underscores WotC’s superior 46% operating margin compared to the ~5% margin seen across the rest of the portfolio.

The Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment has structurally repositioned Hasbro. The company now operates as a high-margin digital IP licensor. This shift is built on three quantified revenue pillars. Magic: The Gathering generated $1.7B in FY’25 (+59%), spanning physical card sales and the game’s digital adaptation MTG Arena, and is the segment’s dominant revenue engine. This performance was driven by the “Universes Beyond” sub-brand, headlined by the record-breaking Final Fantasy set and Avatar: The Last Airbender, which were the first- and third-best-selling releases in the franchise’s history, respectively. Dungeons & Dragons (~$299m) covers D&D Beyond subscriptions, physical rulebooks, and lead licensing royalties from Baldur’s Gate 3, the second anchor IP. Monopoly Go! royalties ($168m) represent the highest-margin third-party licensing stream in the portfolio.

The segment’s growth reflects a deliberate post-2018 digital build. The launch of MTG Arena in 2018 proved Hasbro’s tabletop IP could scale digitally at high margins; by 2021, a dedicated division was formalized, crossing $1B in annual revenue. In May’22, Hasbro acquired D&D Beyond for $146.3m, a toolset that has since surpassed the 19 million user milestone. The next inflection came in 2023: Larian Studios released Baldur’s Gate 3 under a D&D licence, winning Game of the Year; and Scopely launched Monopoly Go! in Apr ’23. We have detailed the revenue and download trends for the latest title on our website. The next major phase was the Feb’25 announcement of the “Playing to Win” strategy. This roadmap was realized through a massive reinvestment of earnings into a $1B AAA pipeline distributed across four primary internal studios. Beyond internal development, the strategy accelerates growth through strategic external partnerships, most evident in the record-breaking 2025 MTG results.

By pivoting away from broad entertainment acquisitions toward disciplined reinvestment into its internal studio ecosystem, WotC has emerged as Hasbсro’s primary earnings engine. This model leverages recurring IP revenue, providing a growth trajectory that appears durable well beyond the current refinancing cycle. The next owned-development phase advances through two 2027 titles: Exodus, a sci-fi AAA RPG from Archetype Entertainment, and Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons, a dark-fantasy open-world action game from Invoke Studios — both WotC-owned studios. However, this internal pipeline has seen recent optimization, evidenced by the Feb 26, 2026, closure of Atomic Arcade, the studio previously developing a AAA G.I. Joe title. We will continue to monitor how Hasbro’s cleared balance sheet shapes capital allocation within the division.

Mellow is how 200+ gamedev companies work with talent worldwide. Contracts, IP transfer, compliance, payments — across 50+ jurisdictions, handled in one platform. No patchwork of local providers, manual invoicing, or unresolved compliance gaps. Gaijin Entertainment, Scorewarrior, and Domini Games already run on Mellow.

Learn More

Neon helps game publishers take control of their commerce. Our DTC platform handles everything from webshops and checkout to global payments, tax, and compliance, with full transparency and flat-rate pricing. No black boxes, no restrictions, no surprises. Built by payments, fintech, and gaming veterans, we work hands-on with publishers to optimize revenue and simplify operations. If you’re serious about DTC, we’re serious about helping you win.

Explore the Platform

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

US-based mobile marketing analytics firm AppsFlyer has halted a $1.9B majority-stake sale after the lead bidder, US-based private equity firm Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO), sought revised terms with additional downside protections; the board, advised by Goldman Sachs, rejected the proposal. Apollo was set to acquire ~70% alongside Israeli PE firm Fortissimo Capital (~30%) via a debt-fund structure. The breakdown reflects broader software multiple compression, with the iShares Tech-Software ETF down ~20% YTD.

US-based PC & Console indie games publisher Good Games Group (GGG), backed by MEP Capital, has acquired the full Humble Games back catalogue of 60+ titles from US-based media company Ziff Davis for an undisclosed sum, rebranding as Balor Games upon closing the deal. The catalogue includes the roguelike deck-builder Slay the Spire, the 3D platformer A Hat in Time, and the survival horror SIGNALIS, as well as the complete Firestoke back catalogue and publishing rights to the turn-based tactical game Fights in Tight Spaces. The acquisition also includes Humble’s entire unreleased pipeline and consolidates the sub-licensing rights GGG previously managed. Originally founded in 2024 as Good Games Group by former Humble Games CEO Alan Patmore and COO Mark Nash, Balor Games positions itself as a developer-first publisher for high-quality independent titles.

US-based video game commerce platform Xsolla has acquired Wetaps Corporation, a Vietnam-based PC & mobile games publisher holding a G1 license for online game operations, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition makes Xsolla the first licensed Merchant of Record solution in Vietnam, granting developers access to local payment methods, including MoMo, ZaloPay, and Napas. Wetaps operates the 2game.vn gaming portal and esports media channels. 

US-based AI inference platform Fireworks AI has acquired Hathora, a US-based gaming server infrastructure platform, for an undisclosed sum. Hathora’s team will join Fireworks to reinforce its AI inference infrastructure, with gaming customers moving to Nitrado’s GameFabric by May 5, 2026. Founded by the team behind PyTorch at Meta, Fireworks AI processes more than 10 trillion tokens per day for over 10 thousand customers. Hathora had previously powered server infrastructure for the arena shooter Splitgate 2, the real-time strategy game Stormgate, and the action MOBA Predecessor, and had expanded into real-time AI workloads via a voice model marketplace before the acquisition. Hathora was backed by Upfront Ventures, Founders Fund, and Lunar Ventures.

China-based PC & mobile games publisher NetEase (NASDAQ: NTES) has acquired a 10% minority stake in Hangzhou-based games publisher Xinghan Mingkong for an undisclosed sum. Its development studio, Tianming Xuanniao, is building the asymmetric competitive action RPG Celestial Fall, a UE5-powered title with werewolf-style social deduction mechanics, developed by an 18-person team.

US-based games creator marketing consultancy Open World, a division of talent management firm Loaded, has acquired US-based influencer marketing platform Drope.me for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition adds automation and campaign management tools to Open World’s creator activation capabilities, enabling simultaneous coordination of campaigns across creators. Drope.me founder Dima Okhrimchuk will remain involved, contributing to product and engineering integration. Founded in 2022, Open World serves publishers, developers, and brands seeking creator-driven marketing for game launches and community engagement.

US-based ad-tech company Entravision (NYSE: EVC) has acquired the technology, platform, and product IP assets of rewarded advertising platform Playback Rewards for an undisclosed sum. The assets will be integrated into Adwake, Entravision’s performance advertising unit, to strengthen loyalty-rewards targeting and improve Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) for mobile advertisers, thereby expanding Adwake’s Rewarded & Loyalty advertising roadmap.

VENTURE FINANCING

China-based AI company VAST, developer of AI-native 3D modeling platform Tripo AI, has raised $50m in a Series A co-led by Alibaba (SEHK: 9988) and Hengxu Capital. Proceeds will support world model R&D, teaching AI the physical rules of nature, and the construction of a UGC interactive content platform. The platform supplies production-ready game assets to enterprise clients, including Tencent (SEHK: 700) and NetEase, as part of a broader ecosystem of 90 thousand enterprise partners; its all-in-one Tripo Studio workspace has reached 6.5 million creators and generated nearly 100 million 3D models. Founded in 2023 by CEO Simon Song, a former co-founder of Chinese AI unicorn MiniMax. 

Spain-based mobile games developer Antihero Studios has raised $4.5m in a Seed round co-led by a16z Speedrun and Laton Ventures, with returning participation from Sisu Game Ventures, which led the studio’s undisclosed Pre-Seed round in Oct’24. The funding will accelerate the development of the mobile extraction shooter MISFITZ. Founded in 2024 in Barcelona by Supercell and King veterans, including CEO Brice Laville Saint-Martin (ex-art director on the real-time strategy card game Clash Royale), Frank Yan (ex-game designer on the multiplayer brawler Brawl Stars), and Andre Parodi (ex-King technical director). The team has credits for eight billion-dollar mobile titles. A Feb’26 Pre-Alpha playtest attracted 70 thousand players, averaging 50 minutes of daily playtime.

Spain-based mobile games developer Cheer Games has raised $4.5m in a Pre-Seed round led by Makers Fund, with participation from Play Ventures and angel investors. The Spain-based studio will use the funds to accelerate development of its puzzle game slate and expand its team. Founded by former senior leaders at AppLovin’s Lion Studios, including CEO Emre Gercel, CPO Berkay Ozturk, and CTO Ertan Ünver, the team previously shipped the mobile sort puzzle game Hexa Sort, which surpassed $50m in IAP revenue.

Türkiye-based mobile games developer Vento Games has raised $4m in a Seed round co-led by Makers Fund and Arcadia Gaming Partners, with funding supporting talent expansion and the rollout of its puzzle portfolio, including the puzzle title Blossom Word Search. The studio was founded in Jun’24 by former Fugo executives, including CEO Mustafa Dağlı and CTO Onur Aydınay. The team brings experience from the word puzzle game Words of Wonders and the tile-matching puzzle game Okey Plus. Vento applies a data-driven development approach targeting international family audiences.

UK-based game tech company ReadyCode has raised $3m in a Seed round co-led by Sony Innovation Fund, Lifelike Capital, and London Venture Partners, bringing total funding to $3.8m. Alongside the raise, the company launched ReadyM, a sandbox platform that transforms existing single-player games into community-driven multiplayer worlds. The platform’s first integration, a multiplayer mode for the action-RPG Black Myth: Wukong, generated 12 million organic views and 100 thousand multiplayer playthroughs since its Dec’25 launch. ReadyM’s next integration targets the open-world RPG The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered in Q2’26. Founded by veteran modders, including CEO Julius Kopczewski and COO Michael Szklarski, creator of the first Grand Theft Auto V multiplayer mod, ReadyCode is building community multiplayer infrastructure for existing game libraries. The company previously raised $440k (€400k) in Aug’23 from ff Venture Capital for its game-modding toolset.

India-based consumer AI company Companion Labs has raised $2.5m in a Seed round led by Peak XV Partners’ Surge, with participation from All In Capital, Untitled Ventures, DeVC, and angel investors. The Bengaluru-based company develops AI-powered interactive entertainment for India’s vernacular-speaking audiences, supporting Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, and Bengali. Founded in early 2025 by Akshay Jhanwar and Ajit Pol, Companion Labs will use the funds to accelerate product development and AI capabilities toward product-market fit in India’s vernacular internet user base.

Germany-based short-form gaming platform Minit Games has raised $2m in a Pre-Seed round led by London Venture Partners (LVP) and Sony Innovation Fund, with participation from angel investors Stefan Klemm, Timo Soininen, and Klaas Kersting. The Germany-based company is building a personalized, algorithmically driven feed of instantly playable HTML5 games, powered by an AI discovery engine that matches content to users in real time. Minit Games is preparing an invite-only Alpha launch and positions itself as an open publishing layer for short-form game developers.

US-based games developer Crowded Kingdoms has secured $250k of a targeted $750k offering from undisclosed investors, according to SEC filings. The studio is developing a true single-shard multiplayer experience in which all players coexist in a single persistent world without instanced servers.

EARNINGS REPORTS