NordenBladet – “Baldur’s Gate 3” boosts Hasbro’s stock trading success. The release of Baldur’s Gate 3, a highly acclaimed role-playing video game from Larian Studios, has sent ripples through the gaming world. But the impact doesn’t stop at the gaming community; it’s reverberating in the stock market as well.
Hasbro, a household name in the world of entertainment and gaming, is set to reap substantial benefits from this game’s success. With its stock trading on multiple exchanges, including the NYSE and NASDAQ, Hasbro is poised for significant gains. The game’s popularity, along with other key factors, has analysts and investors eyeing Hasbro’s stock with great anticipation. In this story, we delve into the connection between Baldur’s Gate 3’s triumph and Hasbro’s stock performance, uncovering the promising prospects that lie ahead for this global entertainment giant.
Baldur’s Gate 3, developed and published by Larian Studios, stands as the third installment in the Baldur’s Gate series, rooted in the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing universe. Initially, a partial version of this game debuted in early access format on macOS, Windows, and the Stadia streaming service on October 6, 2020. It continued in this early access phase until its full release on Windows on August 3, 2023. There are plans for macOS and PlayStation 5 versions to launch on September 6, 2023, while the Xbox Series X/S version is anticipated in 2023. Regrettably, the Stadia version got canceled when Stadia ceased operations.
Critics showered Baldur’s Gate 3 with praise, applauding its gameplay, storyline, abundant content, and the wide array of choices available to players.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a role-playing video game offering both solo and cooperative multiplayer modes. Players can craft one or more characters and assemble a party, which can include pre-generated characters, to delve into the game’s narrative. Additionally, players have the option to take one of their characters online to form a party with other players. Much like previous entries in the Baldur’s Gate series, the game features turn-based combat, akin to Larian’s earlier titles Divinity: Original Sin and Divinity: Original Sin II, with all combat adhering to the D&D 5th Edition rules.
The game unfolds in the year 1492 DR, taking place more than 120 years after the events of Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn and a few months after Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus. Its storyline offers a branching narrative characteristic of classic CRPGs, where the core story elements remain fairly consistent regardless of player choices, yet with substantial variations in the details, particularly in relation to the numerous side quests. Players have the option, at the game’s outset, to either create an entirely original character with an open backstory or select one of seven pre-made “origin characters.”
Trading chart of Hasbro stock (HAS) for the last month on the NasdaqGS exchange (Source: Finance.Yahoo.com)
In an unrelated note, Bank of America has expressed optimism about Hasbro’s stock, forecasting further gains. This positivity stems from strong demand for three of Hasbro’s game properties. The bank maintained its “Buy” rating and raised its price target to $90, up from $85, indicating a 41% potential upside from the previous day’s closing price. In response to this bullish outlook, the stock witnessed a more than 7% surge on Tuesday (22. August), Yahoo reports.
Bank of America’s confidence in Hasbro’s prospects is grounded in the success of Magic: The Gathering expansion sets, as well as the popularity of two recently launched digital games from which it collects royalties: Monopoly Go and Baldur’s Gate 3.
Meanwhile, Dungeons & Dragons-based Baldur’s Gate 3 has already sold more than 2.5 million units since it was released on the PC earlier this month. The game will be released on the Playstation 5 early next month.
Bank of America estimates Hasbro could collect $60 million in royalties from Monopoly Go if it reaches $500 million in revenue in its first year, and $61 million in royalties from Baldur’s Gate 3 if it can sell 10 million units.
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