WotC New WotC President Is World of Warcraft's John Hight

After WotC president Cynthia Williams resigned a couple of months ago, taking up the CEO role at Funko, we've been waiting to hear who her replacement will be.

WotC has now announced that John Hight--who previously managed the World of Warcraft franchise for Blizzard Entertainment--is taking over. Like Williams, Hight comes from a video gaming background.

Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said "I admire John’s career focus on fostering community. He is a true embodiment of our mission to bring people together through play. John’s love of D&D and Magic: The Gathering, combined with his leadership in video games, will be crucial as we expand our digital offerings to deliver what our fans crave."

Hight worked at Blizzard for 12 years, on both World of Warcraft and Diablo. According to Business Wire, his role includes oversight of Hasbro's network of gaming studios and digital licensing agreements.

 

[AdmundfortGeographer]

I would need to know more, but an executive background at Blizzard is not confidence boosting purely on that.

 

[see]

Well, another outside video game exec. That tells you what Hasbro thinks the future of Magic and D&D will be.

 

[payn]

Blizzard?

 

[jayoungr]

At least the WoW community has never had a particular problem with Hight, as far as I know. I've been playing for years and haven't heard complaints about him (then again, I might just be hanging out in the wrong places).

 

[Oofta]

Well, another outside video game exec. That tells you what Hasbro thinks the future of Magic and D&D will be.

If you're looking for a manager for WotC where else are you going to look? Forgetting the actual technical implementation for a moment, WoW shares a lot with MtG and D&D. They're entertainment and specifically gaming markets. The franchise and name recognition is important. They've dabbled in expanding that franchise to other venues. The list goes on.

What other industry are they supposed to draw from?

 

[Henadic Theologian]

He literally wrote the book on game development essentials.

https://www.amazon.com/Game-Develop...-Management/dp/1418015415?ref_=ast_author_mpb

I have no idea how much influence on story and game mechanics he had on WoW and Diablo 3 before it, so it's hard to gage what to expect from him here. Hopefully change for the better.

 

[Von Ether]

Well, another outside video game exec. That tells you what Hasbro thinks the future of Magic and D&D will be.

TBF, that's always been the golden goose for that crowd. Even Peter Adkison quit once he found out Hasbro foolishly sold off the video gaming rights without consulting him first and he was the one who bought TSR to save D&D.

I am not saying that makes me feel great for how he might treat the print product and dare not say it could be an improvement over the last couple of years in fear of jinxing it.

 

[Scott Christian]

Blizzard?

Wasn't there a turtle with this video?

 

[FrogReaver]

The good news. A continued focus on good d&d video games is good for their bottom line and for the hobby. People that like the video games may eventually become new ttrpg players.

Also, I trust WOW management more than I do Microsoft management.