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

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​

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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.

 

[Clint_L]

“Dumber” is a reductive phrasing, but it does very much seem to be the case that regular LLM use limits people’s capacity for critical thinking.

Like a broken record, I once again caution that this claim is always made about new communications technology, going right back to literacy. That doesn't mean that this time isn't different, but it does make me very cognizant of my own biases. Historically, what has happened is huge disruption but also a massive leap forward as humans figure out how to leverage the new technology.

Also, I have not seen any research that indicates that LLMs limit people's capacity for critical thinking. What I have seen is research that suggests that using LLMs has reduced people's performance on certain writing tasks (but even this is controversial, as there are also studies suggesting, for example, that using LLM's has led to measurable improvements on skills like writing). Human brains haven't suddenly changed; what will have changed is how they are applied.

I think it is far, far too early to take a confident position on how this will shake out.

 

[Argyle King]

Like a broken record, I once again caution that this claim is always made about new communications technology, going right back to literacy. That doesn't mean that this time isn't different, but it does make me very cognizant of my own biases. Historically, what has happened is huge disruption but also a massive leap forward as humans figure out how to leverage the new technology.

Also, I have not seen any research that indicates that LLMs limit people's capacity for critical thinking. What I have seen is research that suggests that using LLMs has reduced people's performance on certain writing tasks (but even this is controversial, as there are also studies suggesting, for example, that using LLM's has led to measurable improvements on skills like writing). Human brains haven't suddenly changed; what will have changed is how they are applied.

I think it is far, far too early to take a confident position on how this will shake out.

My guess (without any study or evidence) is that it probably does reduce skill in people who are over-reliant on it, in the same way that over-reluance on GPS may reduce the ability of some people to figure out where they're going without it.

 

[Clint_L]

My guess (without any study or evidence) is that it probably does reduce skill in people who are over-reliant on it, in the same way that over-reluance on GPS may reduce the ability of some people to figure out where they're going without it.

Absolutely, just as literacy made it harder for people to memorize epic poems. Because their brain was now occupied doing new things. That's the problem with measuring the impact of a new technology: we tend to measure it first based on how it affects our ability to do the stuff we used to prioritize, because we don't yet understand how to measure the new skills it has enabled.

 

[The Firebird]

My guess (without any study or evidence) is that it probably does reduce skill in people who are over-reliant on it, in the same way that over-reluance on GPS may reduce the ability of some people to figure out where they're going without it.

Freeing their brain for high-value knowledge work (podcasts)

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Absolutely, just as literacy made it harder for people to memorize epic poems. Because their brain was now occupied doing new things. That's the problem with measuring the impact of a new technology: we tend to measure it first based on how it affects our ability to do the stuff we used to prioritize, because we don't yet understand how to measure the new skills it has enabled.

My kids are amazed that I used to have dozens of phone numbers memorized. Now I know two, my cell and my work phone. Everything else I've off-loaded and don't miss it.

 

[mamba]

Ime it is the opposite. Before I spent more cognitive capacity figuring out the nuts and bolts of how to accomplish a specific goal. Now my thinking is higher level--what goals are important, what should be prioritized?

good for you, most people stop at ‘the AI told me the answer, I am done’

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Freeing their brain for high-value knowledge work (podcasts)

I have a joke in my standup set about generative AI freeing us from the burden of being artists so we can specialize in the most true of all human endeavors: drunken fistfights.

You can build a robot that simulates being drunk and put cloned skin on its waldos; but I will never call it a man and I will never grace it with the sacrament of single combat.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

My kids are amazed that I used to have dozens of phone numbers memorized.

I still remember some of the numbers I memorized back then. Pity brains don't do garbage collection.

 

[Charlaquin]

Like a broken record, I once again caution that this claim is always made about new communications technology, going right back to literacy. That doesn't mean that this time isn't different, but it does make me very cognizant of my own biases. Historically, what has happened is huge disruption but also a massive leap forward as humans figure out how to leverage the new technology.

Also, I have not seen any research that indicates that LLMs limit people's capacity for critical thinking. What I have seen is research that suggests that using LLMs has reduced people's performance on certain writing tasks (but even this is controversial, as there are also studies suggesting, for example, that using LLM's has led to measurable improvements on skills like writing). Human brains haven't suddenly changed; what will have changed is how they are applied.

I think it is far, far too early to take a confident position on how this will shake out.

That’s a very good point. I’ll amend my statement; the technology may or may not be inherently harmful to users. But, the way many people are currently using it does seem to be quite harmful. Cognitive debt and “AI psychosis” (I think there’s a less alarmist technical term, but I don’t recall it off the top of my head) are real phenomena, which we should be taking immediate action to safeguard against.