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.

 

[payn]

I want some official statements from this guy ad to what his vision for WotC is.

Probably not until the next quarterly earnings release.

 

[TiQuinn]

Truth is we have no idea what did or did not happen at that company behind the scenes once John took over WOW, this is all rumour and speculation, and I'm not comfortable with folks trying to cancel the guy with only partial information. It doesn't seem right or fair.

Can we stop the hyperbole about random posters on ENWorld having the pull to “cancel” a corporate executive? The word is just silly.

 

[FrogReaver]

Can we stop the hyperbole about random posters on ENWorld having the pull to “cancel” a corporate executive? The word is just silly.

Then what would you call it?

 

[Oofta]

Then what would you call it?

Wishful thinking?

 

[TiQuinn]

Then what would you call it?

Criticism? Bloviating? Venting? Any of those is much more accurate.

 

[FrogReaver]

Criticism? Bloviating? Venting? Any of those is much more accurate.

I’m good with those.

I’d just note that all of those when done in mass are also part of cancellation.

That said it’s also fair to say that not any particular instance of criticism/bloviating/venting is being done with the intent to cancel.

 

[SteveC]

I’d just note that all of those when done in mass are also part of cancellation.

That's definitely the point. But I don't think that anything people try to use to cancel someone will work when it was the reason they were hired in the first place. Association with Blizzard/WoW is a plus to WotC. I daresay it was the main reason he was hired in the first place.

Everything is in place for a move over to digital, as lots of folks have been saying. The only question is if WotC is actually going to do what people are predicting. To me, a lot depends on the quality of their VTT and if it is ready for prime time yet. Previews were strong, even for people who prefer in-person play, but we have yet to see the final product.

But it would take a lot of backlash for WotC to "cancel" someone for doing what they seem to want in the first place. Now if the digital move fails ...