Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks Is Talking About AI in D&D Again

Chris Cocks, the CEO of Hasbro, is talking about the usage of AI in Dungeons & Dragons again. In a recent interview with Semafor, Cocks once again brought up potential usage of AI in D&D and other Hasbro brands. Cocks described himself as an "AI bull" and offered up a potential subscription service that uses AI to enrich D&D campaigns as a way to integrate AI. The full section of Semafor's interview is below:

Smartphone screens are not the toy industry’s only technology challenge. Cocks uses artificial intelligence tools to generate storylines, art, and voices for his D&D characters and hails AI as “a great leveler for user-generated content.”

Current AI platforms are failing to reward creators for their work, “but I think that’s solvable,” he says, describing himself as “an AI bull” who believes the technology will extend the reach of Hasbro’s brands. That could include subscription services letting other Dungeon Masters enrich their D&D campaigns, or offerings to let parents customize Peppa Pig animations. “It’s supercharging fandom,” he says, “and I think that’s just net good for the brand.”

The D&D design team and others involved with D&D at Wizards of the Coast have repeatedly stood by a statement posted back in 2023 that said that D&D was made by humans for humans. The full, official stance on AI in D&D by the D&D team can be found below.

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.

 

[dave2008]

Nah he is definately thinking AI. Random item X made with AI, being able to write in an AI request to generate X. A character portrait generator with AI...etc etc.

I think its all part of the plan....and frankly should be a part of the plan. Again having digital tools and not being considering AI is a death sentence in today's business climate.

While I agree with you in principal, I disagree on the need for all of that to be "AI," we have had random generation long before AI, with less overhead, and frankly less errors. Using AI wisely is the better strategy. That is why I said it seems to be a buzzword vs an actual strategy. We are doing AI because the is what good profitable business should do (that type of thing).

 

[Charlaquin]

That is possible, but I am not sure AI is really the best technology to do many of those things. It seems to me it is more a buzzword than actual knowledge of the tech that will be implemented.

I agree! But again, I don’t think those specific things are really material to what Dr. Cox is saying here. He’s saying he wants WotC to have some sort of subscription service to use AI tools. I don’t think he really cares what the service would allow people to do with the tools, he just thinks that “using AI for D&D” is something WotC could charge a monthly fee for and isn’t yet doing, and he wants them to start doing that.

 

[dave2008]

For a real world question where the answer matters that it is a problem and possibly for an actual article intended for publication. for a home game, what is the issue?

The degree to which it is an issue depends on a many factors. However, it likely never rises above more than an inconvenience. How much that matters really varies from person to person.

 

[dave2008]

That's inherent to capitalism, not this technology (or any other really). China recently released an open-source AI called DeepSeek. It's free. The code is freely available online. So clearly it's possible.

Is that the one that uses vastly lower processing power too?

 

[Oofta]

I agree! But again, I don’t think those specific things are really material to what Dr. Cox is saying here. He’s saying he wants WotC to have some sort of subscription service to use AI tools. I don’t think he really cares what the service would allow people to do with the tools, he just thinks that “using AI for D&D” is something WotC could charge a monthly fee for and isn’t yet doing, and he wants them to start doing that.

I get subscriptions for things I find useful and/or informative. I pay for DDB because it makes my life as DM (and player for that matter) much, much easier. Even with that subscription fee, D&D is still a cheap hobby and the time I save by using the tool is worth the money to me. Same reason I pay for some streaming services.

Whether or an AI tool (or Sigil or any other tool WotC produces) would be worth the cost is something I'd have to consider when and if it's ever something other than vaporware.

 

[Oofta]

Is that the one that uses vastly lower processing power too?

Yes, in large part because it uses chips not available to the developers. But there are also questions about how the Chinese government is using it ... which is a whole separate topic that doesn't really have anything to do with D&D.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If you're Hasbro, you can't get people to pay subscription fees to something like the Tome of Adventure Design.

This isn't about what's best for DMs. It's about what's best for the bottom line.

That he thinks coming up with adventure ideas is a burden suggests that he may not actually understand the appeal of a core product of the company.

 

[Charlaquin]

For a real world question where the answer matters that it is a problem and possibly for an actual article intended for publication. for a home game, what is the issue?

I mean, presumably you had a reason for asking the question in the first place, right? If the truth value of the answer didn’t matter to you, you could have just made the answer up yourself. I guess it isn't a “problem,” in the sense that the stakes are extremely low, but if you asked a question it’s probably because you wanted a truthful answer, and an LLM isn’t reliably going to give you that.

 

[TiQuinn]

I agree! But again, I don’t think those specific things are really material to what Dr. Cox is saying here. He’s saying he wants WotC to have some sort of subscription service to use AI tools. I don’t think he really cares what the service would allow people to do with the tools, he just thinks that “using AI for D&D” is something WotC could charge a monthly fee for and isn’t yet doing, and he wants them to start doing that.

Right. There is a strong "If you're not using AI, you're nothing" course of thought throughout pretty much our entire business and government society right now.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I think the long-term ambition is to solve the DM shortage.

It would be much easier to do something like a Fighting Fantasy game, using the D&D ruleset, and host that on D&D Beyond. They tried that briefly before as a marketing stunt, but a fully fleshed out adventure that ran that way, using the tools they've been building into D&D Beyond already, would definitely work and be easier and cheaper for everyone involved (including WotC) to do than getting AI involved.

And I would 100% pay for individual modules they sold. I've previously purchased two of Obvious Mimic's solo adventures along the same lines.

But building something that runs via existing website database software and just requires one of their deep pool of adventure writer freelancers to come up with something isn't buzzy and exciting for shareholders who want Hasbro to do something with AI.