Monopoly Go! was a hit over a decade in the making through a close partnership between Scopely and Hasbro. During the Capturing the Magic of Monopoly Go!: Reimagining a Timeless IP for a New Era of Entertainment panel at the GamesBeat Hollywood & Games 2025 event, leaders from both companies unveiled the secrets behind the mobile game that’s earned more than $5 billion to date.
Barry Dorf, who leads digital licensing partnerships at Hasbro, recalled inheriting the project at a pivotal moment, when the partnership was up for renewal and the game itself was still unproven. After playing a late-stage build, Dorf said it immediately stood out as something special, even if its ultimate scale was difficult to predict at the time.
“They gave me a build, and I played it… I was like, there are three amazing game loops,” Dorf said. “It’s super polished. This game is going to be a hit — I knew it right away.”
At Scopely, senior vice president of publishing Eric Wood described a development journey defined by restraint rather than speed. Early versions of the game could have shipped and succeeded commercially, but the team made the decision to push further, prioritizing long-term player value over short-term returns.
“The first couple [of] design iterations were good…[and they] could have been successful products,” Wood said. “But the company felt like it wasn’t good enough, not just from a commercial perspective, but from a consumer perspective.”
That insistence on innovation required Hasbro to loosen long-standing brand constraints. According to Dorf, embracing the idea that Monopoly Go! didn’t need to be a literal translation of the board game was a defining moment for the partnership.
“It’s important to note the fact that Hasbro is okay to say this isn’t Monopoly,” Dorf said. “This is something different. As an IP owner, to have that flexibility to take those risks and challenges is very, very rare.”
The willingness on both sides to invest time, capital, and trust ultimately paid off, with Monopoly Go! surpassing $5 billion in lifetime revenue and becoming one of the fastest-growing mobile games in history.
Trust, live ops, and IP collaboration
“Our product team does a great job of constantly bringing new live events to the game,” Wood said. “How do we keep the game fresh, different, new, give the players always something new to interact with?”
IP collaborations have played a central role in that strategy. Scopely has layered partnerships with Marvel, Star Wars, and Harry Potter on top of an already-licensed property, a move that might have seemed risky without the right alignment between publisher and IP holder.
“We’re not looking at quantity,” Wood said. “Less is more. We want to do a very thoughtful job of bringing a great experience that honors not only Monopoly, but also that third-party brand.”
The duo noted that Monopoly’s long history of crossovers in the physical board game space helped establish a precedent for experimentation in the digital version. Beyond collaborations, though, both executives pointed to social interaction as a key driver of retention. Wood highlighted how Monopoly Go! recreates the playful tension of the tabletop experience in a digital format.
“When you think about playing Monopoly at home…you always have these social moments of stealing money from your sister or your dad,” Wood said. “What we did in Monopoly Go!, was try to bring that type of experience, but in a digital construct.”
Looking ahead, both companies see Monopoly Go! not as a one-off success but as a blueprint for future “forever franchises.” Wood explained that daily engagement, not raw revenue, is the metric that matters most.
“If the majority of our players are coming back seven days a week, that gives you confidence that you’re delivering something they see value in,” Wood said. “At the end of the day, their time is the most valuable asset they have.”
For Hasbro, the collaboration has also expanded the total addressable market for games by introducing new audiences to mobile gaming through a familiar IP.
“We believe the new users that came in through this game extended the total addressable market of mobile,” Dorf said. “This is what they know as gaming, and this is what they will play.”
Together, Scopely and Hasbro framed Monopoly Go! as a rare convergence of brand, platform, and creative freedom. It’s a reminder that even the most iconic IP can still find new life when both sides are willing to rethink what it means to play.