Dungeons & Dragons is one of the most influential games of all time. The stories generated by Dungeons & Dragons campaigns have inspired fantasy novels and movies.

Not only has the game itself remained popular for a number of decades, it has spawned countless other tabletop RPGs and even full-blown computer games.

Yet, despite its popularity, Dungeons & Dragons has not yet transitioned into the realm of eSports.

That might be about to change, however. There are a number of reasons to be optimistic about the game’s chances of making the transition.

The Rise of eSports

Even those who aren’t computer gamers themselves must have heard of eSports by now. Those of us who are old enough to remember what such gaming was like in the days before the internet, even before broadband, have witnessed a seismic shift in the way that gamers interact with their games, and with one another. Back then, we shared our passion for gaming by playing split-screen multiplayer, and by buying gaming-related magazines.

Today, gamers have a multitude of ways to connect with one another, and they no longer need to be in the same physical location to play together. Players don’t even need to know who they are playing against in the modern world!

While some people have been taken aback by the rapid rise of eSports – eSports are reported to have generated $660 million in revenue and $485 million of investments in specific brands in 2017 – it has hardly been a surprising development for gamers themselves. Any parent with young children will probably already be familiar with how popular a spectator sport gaming has become. Esports are continuing to gain legitimacy in the eyes of gamers and non-gamers alike, with the rise of services like eSports betting website Betway contributing to the increasing popularity of eSports.

Marketing research firm Newzoo is predicting that 2018 will be a booster year for eSports. Revenues could fly as high as $905 million – a 38% increase on the last year. Most analysts are also expecting a similar increase in brand investment, with an average projection of a .48% increase.

Some games naturally lend themselves to being utilized as eSports titles than others. There are even some games, such as Dota 2, which have been designed with eSports in mind. Dungeons & Dragons might not seem like the most obvious choice for an eSport, but it actually has many of the elements that make a successful eSport.

Dungeons & Dragons has a large and dedicated following, accumulated over several decades. It isn’t something that was usually played digitally (this is changing, however), but this doesn’t mean there won’t be people interested in spectating it – if the experience is rich enough. With a potential audience of 191 million gaming enthusiasts, it seems a near certainty that there are a significant number of Dungeons & Dragons players among their members, especially given the overlap between the two groups.

Competitive D&D

Over the decades, the rules of Dungeons & Dragons have been refined and focused. The game has undergone a number of iterations, with the rules of each being codified in the Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks. With the current generation of the rules now well-established, any player who wishes to learn how to play Dungeons & Dragons can do so. This level of accessibility is important if a game is to become a popular eSport.

Hasbro, the company who owns the rights to Dungeons & Dragons, have been focusing their efforts heavily on promoting the game through Twitch. So far, their strategy has proven successful. Dungeons & Dragons is gaining popularity on the platform. The millions of viewers it has attracted demonstrates that there is clearly a sizeable audience, but is it enough to sustain an eSport?

A Dedicated Community

Dungeons & Dragons is well established as a popular tournament game at Gaming Conventions. While many players enjoy playing Dungeons & Dragons together as a single party, it also has a long history of competitive play. This is the final piece of the puzzle in terms of the key features of a successful eSport. There are a number of platforms and services, such as Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds, which allow Dungeons & Dragons players to play together online, though these games are rarely in tournament form – but that seems a small step in comparison to those already taken.

As it stands, Roll20 seem like the more logical platform from which to launch Dungeons & Dragons as an eSport. Every indication we have so far is that the community at large would be receptive to the idea of Dungeons & Dragons becoming an eSport, and some think it would give the game an appreciable boost in popularity.

Dungeons & Dragons has all the key ingredients of a successful eSport, but will it ever get that final nudge it needs? There are people hoping that this will be the case, but there are no guarantees. What do you think about D&D’s chances as an eSport? Could it work? Would it be popular? The commercial success of any venture is unknown in advance, but the potential is there.

Perhaps more important to those of us who are already players of RPGs, what do you think the impact would be on the game? Would the rules have to evolve, and would this come at the expense of the traditional tabletop version?

As always, the future is terra incognita, and the journey of discovery will have many unexpected twists and turns.

If you have opinions on the subject, I look forward to hearing them.