Audio EXP Podcast: #238 – Who should D&D’s next boss be?

Welcome home.

This is Audio EXP for the 20th of April, and the episode title is “Who should D&D’s next boss be?” 

[The following is a transcript of Audio EXP: #238]

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Greyplains won the April vote and the interview with Creative Director Jacob Haines is live.

In my introduction, I call him an intelligent man, and in our pre-interview chats, I found out how his degree in Anthropology is a part of Greyplains. That’s interesting in many ways, and one of them is that Greyplains is a setting-neutral system. You might well imagine anthropology would lead game designers to setting design and worldbuilding first, in the way a mathematics degree would encourage a system first. Not so here.

I’ve had a busy week, which you can infer by the posting frequency on the blog but even if I had had the week of to write I suspect the headline story would be the same.

Cynthia Williams has quit.

Now, it’s okay if you’re asking; who is Cynthia Williams.

Three jobs back, or so, she worked for Amazon and her name is on a patent for finding items that go missing in the mail. So, already we know we’re dealing with a smart woman.

Actually, a focus on that patent – which is US number 8, 533, 074 if you want to look it up – is about working out compensation for sellers in a marketplace if the missing item is the fault of the delivery partner. Hmm, so we’re dealing with a commercially minded woman.

One job back, or so, she was at Microsoft Gaming. I’m saying “or so” because Cynthia was promoted in her tenure or moved around, which kinda messes with the job count.

At Microsoft, Cynthia Williams ended up responsible for the Gaming Ecosystem Commercial Team. Once again, we’re talking about sensible integration of people, processes, and money.

Her last job was at Wizards of the Coast, where Cynthia Williams was the CEO. That’s right, Cynthia Williams was the Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons boss.

This week, tucked away in a corporate update from Hasbro was the news that Cynthia Williams has quit the company. She was there for two years.

It’s been a mixed two years for D&D and Magic: The Gathering. Magic has been described as flooding the marketing and killing the game off but the stats show a different story with the best sales ever and financial houses upgrading their performance recommendations for Hasbro as a result.

D&D finally got the movie out, took control of D&D Beyond and has managed to keep the boom going.

However, D&D also had the OGL drama which turned former allies into potential competitors and gave actual competitors big boosts.

For me, it was the interview with Cynthia Williams and her boss, Chris Cocks, the former WotC boss, where they described D&D as under-monetised, which will define the era. It might have been what investors wanted to hear but it was a PR disaster for gamers.

Geek Native’s been able to find D&D branded rice cookers for sale, and it’s hard to write those quirky merch items up without poking fun at the under-monetised line. However, the heart of the issue there was that you can play D&D for free once you buy the books. There are no loot boxes and no subscription fees which you might see in computer games.

By the time the next Audio EXP podcast is out, Cynthia Williams will have left the building.

Who should replace her? Hasbro are not saying much but have said they are looking internally and externally.

My speculation is made even more challenging by my lack of understanding of the American job hierarchy but here goes;

Chris Perkins and Ray Winninger are the two names we might be most familiar with. I suspect Chris is too far into game design and not far enough into finance and commerce, though he’s been rolled out a lot for D&D 50th.

Ray Winninger’s current job title is Executive Producer, and I’m not sure that’s senior enough to jump into the CEO role.

So, there’s Tim O’Hara who is SVP of Finance and Operations. His LinkedIn already says he ‘has led Wizards of the Coast as revenues have tripled’. It also says he operates in the CFO and COO roles.

I think Tim O’Hara is a strong choice and likely acting CEO right now.

There’s also Eugene Evans, who does get some PR love from the team and is the current SVP of Digital Strategy and Licensing. He’s also a finance guy and all about fixing that so-called monetisation problem Chris Cocks and Williams didn’t like.

However, I think an external hire is more likely and here we can take your pick.

I think with the Microsoft and Activision looking more likely, with the USA the last regulatory response to be confirmed, there might be senior game company minds realising there will be two of them for every one role in the new company. They’ll also likely speak Hasbro’s language.

Equally, Amazon for experience in selling stuff, and I think that’s more likely than someone from Mattel who while still a strong rival to Hasbro are more old school than were Hasbro want to go next.

Wizards recent investments have all been in digital, they do keep spinning up games companies, so I think any studio boss is a good candidate but there might be concern the physical side to Wizards of the Coast.

Who do you think suitable candidates are?

By the way, I noted that D&D Onslaught, the board game which costs about £150, is half price in Zavvi right now.

Why mention that? It’s a good example of the logistical challenges that Wizards of the Coast face. Okay, Onslaught is a WizKids game, but that’s still the D&D ecosystem, and Cynthia Williams literally had ‘ecosystem’ in her old job title. I think she’ll be a hard act to follow.

Moving on from Wizards of the Coast and their efforts to do new while looking after old and talk about ENGINE and AtomicThinkTank.

Green Ronin is behind both. Atomic Think Tank is Green Ronin’s new subscription community. Like Patreon, you pay to get to chat and access content there.

ENGINE is a magazine and it’ll be all about Green Ronin’s AGE system.

Honestly, I think both things are very hard, and I wish Green Ronin the best of luck. The last magazine to have a proper crack at fame and fortune was MCDM’s Arcadia, and despite all the talent there, that didn’t work out but MCDM didn’t have a system of their own to care for and stop Arcadia, perhaps, to help work on their post-OGL-crisis alternative. Ah, eek, we’re back to the shadow of Cynthia Williams again.

Atomic Think Tank members who attend the ENGINE launch party will get the first issue for free.

If you’re looking for copies of the Fallout TTRPG then you’re out of luck as Modiphius has sold out. You can still download the Fallout roleplaying game as a PDF though. It costs $14 right now, reduced from the usual $20.

I’m watching the show, having actually watched some TV this year for the 3 Body Problem, haven’t finished it, but enjoying the Amazon Fallout.

Bronwen wrote up the good news that Fallout season 2 has been approved.

What do you think the chances of someone senior from Bethesda being the next Wizards of the Coast CEO are? There’s higher than zero.

Lastly, there are loads of bundles I’ve not written up yet but I did get to the 13th Age mega-bundle at the Bundle of Holding.

If you’re fed up of D&D and want something that’s different but, well, a bit familiar too, then the 13th Age is for you.

On that note, let’s hope nothing important gets lost in the mail, and I’ll see you next week.