The official Dungeons & Dragons magazine app – Dragon+ – surpassed both People Magazine and Maxim in a single week.
Tabletop RPGs are more popular than ever, but it’s not a form of entertainment many call mainstream. Perhaps that’s changing, if figures for the Dragon+ app are anything to go on. This free service – launched to replace the long-running Dragon Magazine – has quickly become one of the most popular apps on iTunes’ Newsstand. In fact, Wizards of the Coast noted that Dragon+ reached the #1 Newsstand Entertainment category in its first week – surpassing major publications like People Magazine and Maxim.
Sadly, exact download figures for Dragon+ aren’t available at this time. But according to a Wizards of the Coast press release, the app hit some very substantial benchmarks. After launching on April 30, it was featured in Apple’s “Best New Apps” section, rose to #1 in the Newsstand’s Entertainment category, and was ranked #3 in the entire Newsstand.
It’s lowered in the rankings since then, but in fairness, Dragon+‘s next issue won’t launch until June. Meanwhile it’s still sitting within the Top 40 as of writing, beating several other gaming and entertainment news publications. Meanwhile ratings sit at a solid 4.5 and 4.59 for iTunes and Android, respectively.
That’s not to say the entire entrainment world is flocking to read about Dungeons & Dragons, but it certainly suggests Dragon+ has a very solid following, perhaps even compared to Dragon Magazine. This debut issue featured interviews with Dan Tudge and Rob Overmeyer on the Elemental Evil storyline, along with details on the Forgotten Realms setting. Six issues are expected to be published every year.
