DriveThruRPG is now selling offset print books in the US

One of the most prominent digital distributors for tabletop RPGs, DriveThruRPG, is expanding its services to include the sale of offset print books directly on its storefront. This is done through its Partner Shipping Program, which allows RPG publishers to fulfill their orders and ship books, as well as other physical items, from their own warehouses. These items can be selected via a “retail” option from the product page’s drop down menu, although the program is currently only available within the US.

What’s notable is that offset print books are distinct from print-on-demand books, the latter being a service that DriveThruRPG already provides. Offset printing is a form of traditional, mass production printing, with negatives etched onto custom metal plates, printed onto paper via massive rollers, and eventually sold in bulk through brick-and-mortar stores. On the other hand, print-on-demand books are produced in smaller quantities via laser printing; for DriveThruRPGs, it works with printing houses in the US and UK to produce print-on-demand books. 

According to Roll20, which owns the marketplace, the cut that DriveThruRPG will take for processing the retail sales to publishers is the same as its digital sales. This is stated as 35% or 30% of the price paid by the customer on the DriveThruRPG website, with this figure dependent on whether the publisher is an exclusive DriveThruRPG partner. 

Roll20 told Rascal via email that the program has been in the works for “the better part of a year”, but it’s still in its infancy. “We prioritized it in response to recent tariff increases to support publishers selling through existing inventory, so they could generate revenue to cover additional expenses they might incur on new projects,” said Scott Holden, director of partner relations at Roll20. This is evident in how one publisher and RPG designer, Third Kingdom Games, shared on Reddit that DriveThruRPG has been “emailing out spreadsheets each morning with the orders on them.” It’s a pretty rudimentary approach to informing publishers about their orders, rather than linking directly to their webstores, and Holden has acknowledged this will be improved upon some time in the future. 

The cut that DriveThruRPG will take for processing the retail sales to publishers is the same as its digital sales.

“We plan to expand our tools and integrate with shipping partners in the future. However, there is no firm timetable for those integrations. One of our goals in releasing this service quickly has been to keep it simple so we don’t leave anyone out; we want to be able to support small indie publishers who sell from their home offices and who may not be integrated with bigger ecommerce platforms,” he said.

So far, this development has been generally well-received by players, with some pointing out that they are eager to pay for better quality books as opposed to print-on-demand books. “I started printing offset books because there's a certain percentage of the gaming populace who really don't like print on demand, and will pay extra for offset features such as smyth-sewn bindings, and I was missing out on those sales,” Third Kingdom Games said to Rascal via email. As an exclusive partner with DriveThruRPG, they believe online sales for physical books can support small publishers, particularly for those with the means to manufacture offset print books, but are not mainstream enough for major distributors. “I've been self-employed for almost thirty years, and one of the lessons I learned early on is that you need to make it as easy as possible for people to give you money. Having this extra venue only helps that.”

While there are some kinks that Third Kingdom Games thinks can still be ironed out, like the aforementioned use of spreadsheets to consolidate orders, as well as concerns over misdelivered or damaged parcels, the publisher told Rascal that the program has been seamless so far. One major issue they foresee, however, is the inability to track inventory through the DriveThruRPG system. This means people may end up purchasing physical items on the storefront, only to be told that the items are out of stock later. “For most publishers, I don't think it will be an issue, though, due to the general volume of sales. While I think it may boost sales slightly for publishers, I don't think it will be by more than a few percent, and not like a doubling or trebling of sales,” they said. 

This development has been generally well-received by players, with some pointing out that they are eager to pay for better quality books.

This move towards selling offset books hints at DriveThruRPG’s efforts to consolidate the sales of tabletop RPGs — both digital and physical — towards its own platform. This is a boon for DriveThruRPG and Roll20 to be sure, but monopolies can stifle competition and result in anti-consumer practices. Take Steam for instance, which has largely monopolized digital video game sales with scant few competitors. The platform is currently facing an anti-trust lawsuit by games developer Wolfire, stemming from its steep 30% commission on sales and its ability to shrug off attempts in lowering these fees. While DriveThruRPG is nowhere near the size and dominance of Steam yet, reining in attempts at consolidation will become a going concern as the industry becomes increasingly mature.

Currently, a limited FAQ page is now live on DriveThruRPG's website offering basic information about the Partner Shipping Program. Given Holden's statements, this will likely become more robust as the platform rolls out more features.