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.

 

[Parmandur]

The most thrilling title on there you did not underline is Shadow of the Colossus. God that game was ahead of its time.

He worked on some very interesting stuff since the 90's, just highlighting the D&D part. So he knows the game.

 

[Storyteller Hero]

If John Hight managed World of Warcraft during its decline and worked at Blizzard as an exec during the scandal that resulted in an employee committing suicide, I am a little worried about what he brings to the table as the new President of WotC.

 

[FoolishFrost]

We’ll have to wait and see, but honestly, tabletop game design and development is utterly alien to videogame development. Almost apples and oranges. I've done both, and they have about as much as common as novels and tv shows.

Annnd, I just realized those differences might not be obvious to some reading this. Meh. I have the flu. <crawls back into bed>

 

[Parmandur]

We’ll have to wait and see, but honestly, tabletop game design and development is utterly alien to videogame development. Almost apples and oranges. I've done both, and they have about as much as common as novels and tv shows.

Annnd, I just realized those differences might not be obvious to some reading this. Meh. I have the flu. <crawls back into bed>

Novels and scriptwriting share enough in common that I feel this is a better background to run WotC than, say, running a widget factory.

 

[see]

If you're looking for a manager for WotC where else are you going to look?

Well, there's this one idea where you take people who are already familiar with your company and industry because they already work for you, and you promote them to fill openings in your leadership.

Yes, radical and crazy, I know.

 

[Parmandur]

Well, there's this one idea where you take people who are already familiar with your company and industry because they already work for you, and you promote them to fill openings in your leadership.

Yes, radical and crazy, I know.

That's relatively rare at the Executive level...and as much as I respect Jeremy Crawford or Chris Perkins, they probably don't even want the job, and wouldn't be able to work directly on D&D anymore.

This guy has a pretty solid resume, from software designer to producer to Executive, having worked at EA, Sony, Atari, and Blizzard.

Given that WotC is primarily a software company, makes a lot of sense.

 

[Michael Linke]

If John Hight managed World of Warcraft during its decline and worked at Blizzard as an exec during the scandal that resulted in an employee committing suicide, I am a little worried about what he brings to the table as the new President of WotC.

The Project Lead for a game would be FAR lower on the chain of command than Moynihan was (or her abuser). "During its decline" isn't really what happened. From 2011 to 2024, the game had multiple rises and falls. If he was there for a decline, he was there on the way up too.

We’ll have to wait and see, but honestly, tabletop game design and development is utterly alien to videogame development. Almost apples and oranges. I've done both, and they have about as much as common as novels and tv shows.

Annnd, I just realized those differences might not be obvious to some reading this. Meh. I have the flu. <crawls back into bed>

He's not a video game developer, though. He's a project manager who over saw the development of a game. A lot of the disciplines/teams he would have sat above do apply to tabletop and video game development. He just won't have to oversee any coders, QAs, sever teams, or those would support those efforts this time around.

But does he have any actual D&D experience?

I guess this is the one sarcastic variant of the question, but to those who ask this with a straight face, what possible hobbies do you think a Computer Science major--who's first job, and every job after it, has been in the game industry--does in their spare time if not play D&D?

 

[Michael Linke]

accidental double post

 

[Parmandur]

For clarity, here are the components studios of WotC:

• Archetype Entertainment in Austin, TX (making Exodus)
• Atomic Aecade in Raleigh, NC (unannounced video games)
• D&D (D&D stuff)
• Invoke Studios in Montreal, Quebec (Dark Alliance recently, unknown video game now)
• "Studio X" in Renton, Washington (Magic: the Gathering)
• Skeleton Key in Austin, TX (unannounced video games)
• Wizards Kids (nothing to report...yet?)

So, at this point...WotC is primarily a video game publisher, and ha seen for a while, in terms of what moat of their staff is doing. So a video game executive, running video game teams...makes sense.

 

[Azzy]

I guess this is the one sarcastic variant of the question, but to those who ask this with a straight face, what possible hobbies do you think a Computer Science major--who's first job, and every job after it, has been in the game industry--does in their spare time if not play D&D?

It's a joke based on the nitpicking of credentials when WotC hiring certain individuals that inevitably happens.