D&D General Hasbro CEO Says AI Integration Has Been "A Clear Success"

However "people make the decisions and people own the creative outcomes".
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We've known for some time that Hasbro CEO--and former president of Wizards of the Coast--Chris Cocks is an avid AI supporter and enthusiast. He previously noted that of the 30-40 people he games with regularly, "there's not a single person who doesn't use AI somehow for either campaign development or character development or story ideas." In a 2025 interview he described himself as an "AI bull".

In Hasbro's latest earnings call, Cocks briefly addressed the use of AI within the company. While he mentions Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast and the digital studio teams, he doesn't specifically namecheck Dungeons & Dragons. However, he does tout Hasbro's AI integration as a "clear success", referring primarily to non-creative operations such as finances, supply chains, and general productivity enhancements, and emphasises that "people make the decisions and people own the creative outcomes". He also notes that individual teams choose whether or not to use AI.

So while it is clear that AI is deeply embedded in Hasbro's workflows, it is not clear to what extent that applies to Dungeons & Dragons. WotC has indicated multiple times that it will not use AI artwork, and its freelance contracts explicitly prohibit its use. The company also removed AI-generated artwork in 2023's Bigby's Presents: Glory of the Giants.

Before I close, I want to address AI, and how we're using it at Hasbro. We're taking a human-centric creator-led approach. AI is a tool that helps our teams move faster and focus on higher-value work, but people make the decisions and people own the creative outcomes. Teams also have choice in how they use it, including not to use it at all when it doesn't fit the work or the brand. We're beyond experimentation. We're deploying AI across financial planning, forecasting, order management, supply chain operations, training and everyday productivity. Under enterprise controls and clear guidelines around responsible use and IP protection. Anyone who knows me knows I'm an enthusiastic AI user and that mindset extends across the enterprise. We're partnering with best-in-class platforms, including Google Gemini, OpenAI and 11 labs to embed AI into workflows where it adds real value. The impact is tangible. Over the next year, we anticipate these workflows will free up more than 1 million hours of lower-value work, and we're reinvesting that capacity into innovation, creativity and serving fans. Our portfolio of IP and the creators and talent behind it are the foundation of this strategy. Great IP plus great storytelling is durable as technology evolves, and it positions us to benefit from disruption rather than being displaced by it.

In toys, AI-assisted design, paired with 3D printing has fundamentally improved our process. We've reduced time from concept to physical prototype by roughly 80%, enabling faster iteration and more experimentation with human judgment and human craft determining what ultimately gets selected and turned into a final product. We believe the winners in AI will be companies that combine deep IP, creative talent and disciplined deployment. That's exactly where Hasbro sits. As we enter 2026, we view playing to Win and more importantly, the execution behind it by our Hasbro, Wizards of the Coast and digital studio teams as a clear success.
- Chris Cocks, Hasbro CEO​

Wizards of the Coast's most recent statement on AI said "For 50 years, D&D has been built on the innovation, ingenuity, and hard work of talented people who sculpt a beautiful, creative game. That isn't changing. Our internal guidelines remain the same with regards to artificial intelligence tools: We require artists, writers, and creatives contributing to the D&D TTRPG to refrain from using AI generative tools to create final D&D products. We work with some of the most talented artists and creatives in the world, and we believe those people are what makes D&D great."

A small survey of about 500 users right here on EN World in April 2025 indicated that just over 60% of users would not buy D&D products made with AI.
 

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I have read about plans to build AI centers in Groeland where cooling should be "cheaper".

You know I have published several pictures and homemade PC species created by AI and my opinion it may be a very useful tool to help but it will be better with a human to test and polish. With AI I can look for characters, creatures or sentient species of public domain for my homemade setting, for example. It can help you for a first sketch but the rest should be done by you.

It is like if you use google translators. It could help but it may fail

But for certain things they aren't so good. I can't create a picture with the characters of Dragonlance and with Larry Elmore's artistic style, for example, in a dinamic epic battle scene with three or more characters.

One possible use is to transform illustrations or CGIs into photorealistic videos. The human artists only had to design the storyboard. Once I found in youtube a music videoclip created by AI and it was perfect.
 




But for certain things they aren't so good. I can't create a picture with the characters of Dragonlance and with Larry Elmore's artistic style, for example, in a dinamic epic battle scene with three or more characters.
This is a feature, not a bug. I hope that remains the case.
Luis I see you posting in the AI Art Thread with some regularity, but I gotta say ... you don't think that this is up to scratch for your request? From what I've seen tools like Gemini also handle requested changes very well now. It's kind of crazy. Would this literally sit for Elmore's work? No, there are errors and problems in it. But considering the kind of modifications etc. you can do with this stuff... I don't know, it seems to do scary well. It can pick out individual characters for requests.
 

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Pandoras box is opened...

and actually, I see no harm in usong AI to get some inspiration or to write automated E-mails.

At some point every tool needs to find a place and it would be dumb to not use it as long as it is cost and time efficient.

Whenever a new machine or tool was produced, some jobs became obsolete. Some workers protested. But in the end innovation created more jobs and everyone had a better life thereafter.

Without a washing machine, much time would have to be spent cleaning your clothes...
Calculaters and computers made so many jobs obsolete...
... so at some point one have to accept that there is a new tool...
... and it the buyer's decision to buy handmade items or generated items.
As it has been for quite some time in manufactured items...
 

Luis I see you posting in the AI Art Thread with some regularity, but I gotta say ... you don't think that this is up to scratch for your request? From what I've seen tools like Gemini also handle requested changes very well now. It's kind of crazy. Would this literally sit for Elmore's work? No, there are errors and problems in it. But considering the kind of modifications etc. you can do with this stuff... I don't know, it seems to do scary well. It can pick out individual characters for requests.
Tag yourself! I'm the draconian with the inexplicably human head and the arm that phases out of existence through the gap behind the dwarf's axe.
 

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