WotC D&D Hiring New Game Designer Months After Firing Many

The job pays from $86-145k and is for an experienced game designer—presumably much like one of those they let go a few months ago!

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Notably, one of those let go in December in Hasbro’s company-wide cost-cutting cull of over 1,000 jobs was D&D designer Dan Dillon. Dillon posted on Twitter—“Well. There it is. D&D is hiring a game designer, 8 months later. Was it worth it, you soulless f*****g cowards? Did you save enough money?”

 

[jerryrice4949]

Not really.

The most recent WotC layoffs, followed months later by rehiring the same positions . . . is definitely yet another example of toxic corporate behavior that has become emblematic of Hasbro/WotC. If WotC's many stumbles over the past few years has left you cold towards supporting their products . . . I get it. I'm pretty tired of WotC's corporate shenanigans myself.

But few on these forums "defend" WotC when they step wrong. A few in this thread seem to be shrugging off this current situation as corporations-gonna-corp, but no one is defending the company's actions.

We do have folks on these forums, and within the larger fandom, who have an axe to grind with WotC that goes beyond just being unhappy with the company's decisions and actions. If you've been around long enough, it was the same with TSR . . . an independent company that was much worse in how it treated it's workers and customers. Nobody defended TSR, but some had big axes to grind.

The pushback you are commenting on isn't anyone defending WotC, its those of us who are TIRED of the constant negativity, the sometimes fair but also often misplaced negativity. Those who see malice in everything WotC does. It rises to conspiracy-theory level thinking and infects almost every conversation on these boards about D&D.

It's tiresome.

WotC, and TSR back in the day, makes lots of stumbles. Especially of late. But WotC is not a person, WotC is a company made of many individuals, a company whose leadership is constantly in flux. A company that makes bad decisions, and a company that makes good decisions. A company that puts out products you don't like, and a company that puts out products you probably would if you'd give it a chance.

Well said. The forums feel like they have just taken a turn since I first joined over a decade ago but maybe I am just misremembering. It is constant negativity and thread crapping. Almost any thread involving WOTC/D&D whether it be a product announcement, game design discussion, UA etc devolves into the same grievance litigation. It doesn’t happen on other threads though. You don’t see it in other game discussions. Sometimes it is nice to read a review or learn about a new product without having to hear how much people hate WoTC, feel the games isn’t for them etc.

I get it WoTC has done a lot of crappy things. And I understand for this thread some amount of grievance may be warranted. Laying off people is crappy. The reasons don’t matter it is terrible when people lose their jobs.

I have never blocked anyone because I like to hear differing view points but I do find myself visiting this site less and less.

 

[Dire Bare]

‘corp gonna corp’ is something I consider a defense, it’s not that far from saying ‘they are absolutely justified in this, what else would anyone do’, and I frequently see variations of that in their defense too

No, it really isn't. It's an explanation. It's shrugging your shoulders and saying, "What are you going to do?" But it's not a defense. Even if you consider it one.

sure, and we have people defending any action WotC takes . . . snip . . . If you defend their attempt to revoke the OGL, the Pinkertons and the WotC firings . . .

No, we really don't.

We have folks speculating on reasons . . . reasons that don't always involve malice. Reasons that can involve incompetence, stupidity, short-sightedness . . . and sometimes just decisions that we don't personally care for, but aren't inherently bad decisions. On ENWorld, it's rarely the same people who "defend" (express an opinion other than "WotC is evil" at all times) on the different sides of these issues.

 

[Mistwell]

If the over-the-top extreme exaggerated anger over everything WOTC says or does continues much longer I suspect we will see a spun-off sub forum to silo for those comments like we've seen in prior years. At least one prominent TTRPG forum already did that relatively recently.

I get it for this thread. But it's been happening in most threads, even those just about the game. At some point, I'd expect people who just cannot find it in themselves to talk about D&D the game without dwelling on their feelings about WOTC or Hasbro or the OGL or Pinkertons or controversy of the past will just move on to a sub-forum talking about games and game companies they like rather than those they no longer like.

 

[Mistwell]

I get it WoTC has done a lot of crappy things. And I understand for this thread some amount of grievance may be warranted. Laying off people is crappy. The reasons don’t matter it is terrible when people lose their jobs.

I have never blocked anyone because I like to hear differing view points but I do find myself visiting this site less and less.

Agreed. It became some people's identities on this forum. It's not just here of course. You see it on Facebook and some other forums too. But it got to the point where there isn't any D&D-related news where some people don't immediately try and spin an attack over it.

D&D discussions are like political discussions these days.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I can see a day that WotC divests itself of Hasbro, and effectively becomes the parent company, while the rest of Hasbro is sold off to private equity.

I really don't want to get involved in this thread (honestly, I have a feeling that the life span is limited), but I saw this and I have to ask .... what?

Part of the issue is that if we want to have real conversations about topics, we have to be able to discuss things than can happen. Now, I can't say that I know everything, and I understand that language can be imprecise on the internet, so there may be some nuance or point you are making that simply escapes me. But I've read this several times and I can't make sense of it.

Here is my understanding.

Hasbro, Inc. is a corporation. That corporations owns (as in 100% owns) other entities, including Wizards of the Coast LLC (a limited liability company).

WoTC has no ability to divest itself of Hasbro. Period.
It cannot become the parent company. (For a lot of reasons, but simply put, you don't have an LLC on the stock exchange).
WoTC cannot sell "the rest of Hasbro" to private equity.

Again, this is my understanding.

So, what could possibly happen? If you wanted to realistically discuss the possibilities, there are a number of them!

1. Hasbro could sell off certain assets (tangible and intangible) that constitute "D&D" to another company.
2. Hasbro could sell the limited liability company (WoTC LLC) to another company.
3. Private equity could buy Hasbro, saddle it with debt, and carve up the scraps.


All sorts of possibilities! However, the first and the second are unlikely unless an amazing deal is offered right now. And such a deal would mean that the buyer would have to further monetize the brands in order to justify the price.


In other words, when we think about the solutions to the "Hasbro problem," make sure you fully understand what those solutions might end up looking like.


Please note that I just providing some thoughts, and you are more than welcome to continue venting about Hasbro or whatever.

 

[LordEntrails]

So, what could possibly happen? If you wanted to realistically discuss the possibilities, there are a number of them!

What about the possibility that all parts of Hasbro except WotC tank so much that they decide to start operating under the WotC name if it becomes more valuable than the HAsbro name? And then Hasbro d.b.a. WotC sells off or shuts down all the unprofitable parts of Hasbro and only does D&D and Pokemon?

 

[Micah Sweet]

What about the possibility that all parts of Hasbro except WotC tank so much that they decide to start operating under the WotC name if it becomes more valuable than the HAsbro name? And then Hasbro d.b.a. WotC sells off or shuts down all the unprofitable parts of Hasbro and only does D&D and Pokemon?

Probably MtG as well.

 

[Velderan]

I really don't want to get involved in this thread (honestly, I have a feeling that the life span is limited), but I saw this and I have to ask .... what?

Part of the issue is that if we want to have real conversations about topics, we have to be able to discuss things than can happen. Now, I can't say that I know everything, and I understand that language can be imprecise on the internet, so there may be some nuance or point you are making that simply escapes me. But I've read this several times and I can't make sense of it.

Here is my understanding.

Hasbro, Inc. is a corporation. That corporations owns (as in 100% owns) other entities, including Wizards of the Coast LLC (a limited liability company).

WoTC has no ability to divest itself of Hasbro. Period.
It cannot become the parent company. (For a lot of reasons, but simply put, you don't have an LLC on the stock exchange).
WoTC cannot sell "the rest of Hasbro" to private equity.

Again, this is my understanding.

So, what could possibly happen? If you wanted to realistically discuss the possibilities, there are a number of them!

1. Hasbro could sell off certain assets (tangible and intangible) that constitute "D&D" to another company.
2. Hasbro could sell the limited liability company (WoTC LLC) to another company.
3. Private equity could buy Hasbro, saddle it with debt, and carve up the scraps.


All sorts of possibilities! However, the first and the second are unlikely unless an amazing deal is offered right now. And such a deal would mean that the buyer would have to further monetize the brands in order to justify the price.


In other words, when we think about the solutions to the "Hasbro problem," make sure you fully understand what those solutions might end up looking like.


Please note that I just providing some thoughts, and you are more than welcome to continue venting about Hasbro or whatever.

I know there was a push from an activist investor a couple years ago to have Hasbro spin off WotC into it’s own company, arguing it would increase the overall value of the 2 companies or something. No idea in legal terms what “spin off” means, would WotC have become a publicly traded company in that scenario? That’s my assumption if an investor was arguing for it.

 

[jerryrice4949]

I really don't want to get involved in this thread (honestly, I have a feeling that the life span is limited), but I saw this and I have to ask .... what?

Part of the issue is that if we want to have real conversations about topics, we have to be able to discuss things than can happen. Now, I can't say that I know everything, and I understand that language can be imprecise on the internet, so there may be some nuance or point you are making that simply escapes me. But I've read this several times and I can't make sense of it.

Here is my understanding.

Hasbro, Inc. is a corporation. That corporations owns (as in 100% owns) other entities, including Wizards of the Coast LLC (a limited liability company).

WoTC has no ability to divest itself of Hasbro. Period.
It cannot become the parent company. (For a lot of reasons, but simply put, you don't have an LLC on the stock exchange).
WoTC cannot sell "the rest of Hasbro" to private equity.

Again, this is my understanding.

So, what could possibly happen? If you wanted to realistically discuss the possibilities, there are a number of them!

1. Hasbro could sell off certain assets (tangible and intangible) that constitute "D&D" to another company.
2. Hasbro could sell the limited liability company (WoTC LLC) to another company.
3. Private equity could buy Hasbro, saddle it with debt, and carve up the scraps.


All sorts of possibilities! However, the first and the second are unlikely unless an amazing deal is offered right now. And such a deal would mean that the buyer would have to further monetize the brands in order to justify the price.


In other words, when we think about the solutions to the "Hasbro problem," make sure you fully understand what those solutions might end up looking like.


Please note that I just providing some thoughts, and you are more than welcome to continue venting about Hasbro or whatever.

You make a great point. In the unlikely circumstance Hasbro sells off D&D or WoTC whomever buys them is going to have to aggressively monetize the brand to make the sale worthwhile.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

What about the possibility that all parts of Hasbro except WotC tank so much that they decide to start operating under the WotC name if it becomes more valuable than the HAsbro name? And then Hasbro d.b.a. WotC sells off or shuts down all the unprofitable parts of Hasbro and only does D&D and Pokemon?

Sure! Given the issues, it woudn't be a d/b/a, it would likely be something similar to the Google/Alphabet, or, um, Philip Morris to Altria.

The trouble is that Hasbro has certain products that are increasingly unprofitable as physical products but continue to provide returns from the brand rights. Well, that's one trouble. Anyway, it's incredibly hard to predict what Hasbro will do, but we can say that it will be what Hasbro, Inc., will do- not what WoTC LLC will do.