John Hight has become the new President of Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming. That means John is the new boss at D&D, Magic: the Gathering and the digital studios Hasbro has been buying to support the two games.
I argue this appointment does not teach us anything new, and it’s very much on target for Hasbro’s plans for Wizards of the Coast and its brands. In fact, I almost predicted the appointment – at least where the new boss would come from.
After Chris Cocks was promoted from being the boss at WotC to being the boss at Hasbro, Cynthia Williams was appointed to the role and she was a logistics and digital eco-systems expert from Amazon and Microsoft. It wasn’t an easy ride (what’s this… people reacting badly to a woman turning up at D&D game, who knew?) and investors who wanted Wizards of the Coast (profitable) to be stripped from Hasbro (not so profitable) so it could be sold off, used her as the focal point of their attack.
Earlier this year, Williams quit and on the Geek Native podcast, I speculated on who could replace her.
I had no strong candidates except to suggest Tim O’Hara was likely very close to the role.
I concluded that someone would most likely move on from the Microsoft and Activision deal.
Sure enough, John Hight comes from Blizzard Entertainment, where he oversaw the commercial activities of World of Warcraft and Hearthstone.
I made that call because Wizards of the Coast are loud about two things;
- D&D’s future is digital (Magic: The Gathering is already there).
- D&D’s an under-monetized brand (Magic: The Gathering is already there).
The press release about John says;
As President, John’s role will include oversight of Hasbro’s network of gaming studios and digital licensing agreements. He will also lead strategy for MAGIC: THE GATHERING and DUNGEONS & DRAGONS while driving continued global growth for the division and uncovering new storytelling tabletop and digital experiences.
Chris Cocks added;
I admire John’s career focus on fostering community. He is a true embodiment of our mission to bring people together through play. John’s love of D&D and Magic: The Gathering, combined with his leadership in video games, will be crucial as we expand our digital offerings to deliver what our fans crave.”
I doubt we’ll see D&D loot boxes but a subscription model of some description looks likely and the VTT is a strong candidate.
John wasn’t the only new hire, and Holly Barbacovi has returned to the company as Chief People Officer. Holly is the HR boss. She’ll hire and fire and may well be the one who has to deal with any fallout if it turns out that WotC accidentally hired a me-too creep to consult on D&D 2024.
Holly’s also been beefing up her digital credits as she comes from the Destiny company, Bungie.
Via Hasbro.
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