John Hight steps down as president of Wizards of the Coast

A US Securities and Exchange Commission filing notes that John Hight is stepping down from his role as president of Wizards of the Coast effective September 1st. Per the filing, Hight will continue with the company as an advisor. Hight leaves the position after two years on the job, having joined Wizards in August 2024.

Hight, who previously worked for Blizzard for 13 years, oversaw Wizards’ bolstering of its video game studios, with two video games (Exodus and Dungeons & Dragons: Warlock) both set to be released in 2027. Hasbro had goals for Wizards and its various subsidiary studios to release a game per year, but those ambitions were recently scaled back on an investor phone call earlier this month after the cancellation of several games and a subsequent $56 million write-off.

In a statement provided to GamesIndustry.biz, Wizards said “After two years as President of Wizards of the Coast, John Hight is transitioning from the role, effective September 1. We’re deeply grateful for his leadership and the contributions he’s made to our teams and our games during his tenure. John will continue to support Wizards in an advisory capacity while pursuing other creative and professional opportunities he’s passionate about.”

 

[Reynard]

This is going to reveal how little I know about corporate structure, but: what does the President of WotC do, exactly, as opposed to other C-suite positions?

 

[Anthro78]

Interesting. Is two years a normal tenure for these sorts of positions?

 

[UngainlyTitan]

As far as I know, it is the top job in Wizards.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

This is going to reveal how little I know about corporate structure, but: what does the President of WotC do, exactly, as opposed to other C-suite positions?

Lose $56M, apparently.

 

[VashVet]

Interesting. Is two years a normal tenure for these sorts of positions?

That is a quick turnaround for an executive.

 

[Misanthrope Prime]

Hight took this job with one goal; getting a Warcraft TTRPG back in the hands of the players. Having succeeded in his mission, he returned to his home planet.

 

[Alzrius]

Interesting. Is two years a normal tenure for these sorts of positions?

It's how long Cynthia Williams lasted, if I recall correctly.

Lose $56M, apparently.

As a note, there's a pretty good article over on PC Gamer which talks more about this.

Personally, I'm not surprised. What's more surprising is how people here seemed to have such high expectations for Hight, all because he was an "actual gamer [who] will care" (like we were told Chris Cocks was, before he tried to cancel the OGL) and that "he has an MBA" (as if Cynthia "undermonetized" Williams didn't have one), and my personal favorite: that he was a video game developer, which was a "transferable skill" to tabletop games, presumably insofar as WotC's goal of increasing digital play for D&D and M:tG was concerned.

Two years later, we've had the death of Sigil, waffling over the distribution of D&D Drops, M:tG employees needing to unionize to better protect themselves, and a $56 million-dollar shortfall, which doesn't make his skills seem all that transferable.

 

[EthanSental]

Always better to go in eyes wide open and optimistic about a hire than pessimistic in my humble opinion.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

Oh boy! Can't wait to see what the next person in charge will promise to bring next time around!

• World of Darkcraft confirmed!
• Another night with Strahd!
• XP sold as collectable trading cards!
• Baldur's Gate the Musical!
• Moar fluffy mimics and owlbears!
• D&D toothpaste flavors that match your Alignment!
• Ampersands!
• Another edition!
• More hype announcements for upcoming hype announcements!

Ah! This truly is a Golden Age for somebody.