Jess Lanzillo Departs Wizards of the Coast

Another high profile name is departing Wizards of the Coast. Over the weekend, Jess Lanzillo announced she was departing Wizards of the Coast. Lanzillo was the VP of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, a position that she held since February 2024. Lanzillo did not provide details about her next role.

During her tenure overseeing the D&D franchise, Lanzillo oversaw the launch of D&D's revised Fifth Edition as well as pushing it into a new direction. Several longtime leaders of the D&D team - Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins - also departed under her tenure. Recently, Wizards of the Coast posted two high-profile development roles seemingly to replace the pair.

Lanzillo's full post can be found below:

After eight years at Wizards of the Coast, I have made the totally reasonable decision to leave a job where I got paid to argue about whether fictional lizard people can have tails. (Of course they can.)

My trajectory at Wizards has been wonderfully unhinged: leading creative during an absolutely wild ride with Magic: The Gathering, doing business things as Chief of Staff, and finally, getting to be the VP of the Dungeons & Dragons franchise — which is either the best job title ever invented or proof that late-stage capitalism has finally achieved absolute absurdity. Take that, liberal arts naysayers!

Wizards turns imaginary worlds into real communities, which sounds fake but is actually the most satisfying work in the world. To everyone who let me champion this mission while constantly asking "can you add more glowies?" — you are perfect and I love you.

I've been ridiculously fortunate for these eight years, and now I'm lucky enough to, yet again, get to choose my own plot twist. The best part about having super specific creative obsessions is that occasionally the universe decides to reward you for them. More soon!

 

[AlViking]

In isolation, it's not. But the fact that so many top people are leaving in such a short space of time seems like it might be significant. Of what, I don't know.

You had Perkins and Crawford who have worked for WOTC for years and just finished a major release, likely the last major release the game will see for several years. Lanzillo had been with the company 8 years. It's not exactly shocking that they were looking for something new.

Every time someone leaves or is let there's always claims of imminent disaster or something "big". I wouldn't hold my breath.

 

[themaskedcoyote]

That song by Queen may be running on a loop at WoTC.

I've Got to Break Free?

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

 

[Eyes of Nine]

I agree, but it would be hilarious to see the reactions to Kathleen Kennedy being put in charge of D&D.

I think Kathleen Kennedy wasn't terrible, but I'm not a SW fan by a long shot. However, think also about what it would mean if Kevin Feige was to be put in charge of D&D in this fictional world where Disney (or some arm thereof) buys out WotC or D&D or Hasbro... I think Kevin Feige could bring D&D to the ahem, next level.

Also, if/when it happens, I expect they will buy Live Dungeon very quickly rebrand it as D&D Live and put it squarely in the middle of Orlando/Disney World...

 

[Blue]

There's a slight issue that WotC is the biggest and best paying company in the tabletop RPG space. So if you want to advance your career by switching jobs you need to move to another industry.

But she started with M:tG, and then was doing an executive role. There's nothing that says she's locked into TTRPGs.

 

[AlViking]

But she started with M:tG, and then was doing an executive role. There's nothing that says she's locked into TTRPGs.

Sometimes a job is just a job, not something you chose because you were passionate about the specific product. I agree, there's no reason to think someone in her position is in any way tied to the TTRPG industry.

 

[R_Chance]

Sometimes a job is just a job, not something you chose because you were passionate about the specific product. I agree, there's no reason to think someone in her position is in any way tied to the TTRPG industry.

Except she appears to have really liked her job(s) at WotC. Or she's terminally happy and positive

 

[EthanSental]

With Greg Bilsland back on and leading some part of the D&D team, I’m not worried. He’s pretty good at making D&D fun and his DM in 2014/2015 were great.

 

[DarkCrisis]

I agree, but it would be hilarious to see the reactions to Kathleen Kennedy being put in charge of D&D.

Next Faerun novel:

Drizzt: "Who are you?"
Elminster: "I'm Elminster. Elminster Mystra."

 

[curiositypeaked]

Why is it an indication of anything at all that someone is leaving for other opportunities after 8 years? Could it just be that they had achieved what they want and are looking for something new, especially after launching the biggest update to the rules in a decade?

Maybe there's something going on but people moving on to other positions, especially after they've seen the implementation of a major project, is nothing new or shocking.

She took a VP level role less than 18 months ago. Generally speaking, something has gone wrong if a VP leaves their new role in less than 2-3 years.

Some companies give away VP titles like candy, so caveats apply, but if this role was a senior as it sounds ("Head of D&D!"), it is unusual that she would leave that post so quickly.