It's hard to deny Dungeons and Dragons' rise in popularity over the past few years. While the game has maintained a constant presence for decades, it's experienced a jaw-dropping amount of growth, etching out a spot as the quintessential tabletop game. A new infographic released by Wizards of the Coast shows just how popular the game was in 2020.
The infographic breaks down stats about the Dungeons and Dragons player base, revealing that the game has achieved more than 50 million players to date. This makes it the seventh year in a row that Dungeons and Dragons has seen growth, with the TRPG boasting 33% year-over-year increases, globally. Not to mention, it marks the 47th year that Dungeons and Dragons has led the TRPG genre, the infographic states.
The infographic also breaks down the community demographics for Dungeons and Dragons, with the game boasting a 40% female player base, 60% male, and less than 1% non-binary players. As far as age goes, 24% of players – the largest group – are between the ages of 20 to 24. Meanwhile, 15-19 year olds make up just 12% of the player base, making them the smallest group. The other age groups are fairly evenly distributed, which speaks to Dungeons and Dragons' broad appeal.
One of the most interesting stats included in the infographic concerns Dungeon Masters, the puppeteers that steer the show during each session. Apparently, more players are purchasing Dungeon Master-oriented books than ever before, like the Monster Manual and Dungeon Master's Guide. That bodes well for players that are trying to find a new group to play with, as Dungeon Masters can be much harder to find than players are.
Some of the final statistics concern Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, a recent sourcebook that was the most pre-ordered Dungeons and Dragons book ever, and the Magic the Gathering collaboration, which is "very popular" according to the infographic – and still growing. Dungeons and Dragons sourcebooks are one of the best ways for Wizards to dump new content for fans, and it's understandable that the new ones have been doing so well.
The infographic concludes with a calendar of 2021 Dungeons and Dragons releases, with the likes of Dark Alliance, a 4-player co-op game, and new sourcebooks slated to launch by the end of this year. There's also Baldur's Gate 3, which is currently available in early access. All told, it seems like Dungeons and Dragons is only going to get more popular, and that's a great sign for fans of the game.