John Hight, known for his work as general manager on World of Warcraft at Blizzard before 2024, is now leaving Wizards of the Coast after having worked there for around two years. Word of his departure comes thanks to a filing for the US Securities and Exchange Commission (as caught by GamesIndustry) that confirms that he reached a “Transitional Advisory Services Agreement” with Hasbro on July 27th. As part of this, he is slated to spend one more year as an advisor to the CEO.
In a statement, Wizards of the Coast has further confirmed his departure, noting that his transition away from the role of president will begin on September 1st. During his time at the company, Hight headed up development on tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. On the digital side of things, he also oversaw development on projects like Archetype Entertainment’s sci-fi RPG Exodus and the D&D-based Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons. The company has also confirmed that it hasn’t yet picked out a successor for Hight’s position.
“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.”
“There is no change to the strength of the Wizards business. Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons continue to perform incredibly well, consistent with our most recent earnings release, and our upcoming 2027 video game slate, including Exodus and Warlock, remains on track. We’re launching an internal and external search for John’s successor and will share updates as appropriate.”
Hight’s departure from Wizards of the Coast comes just a few months after the company announced that the Dungeons & Dragons-based project under development at Giant Skull – the studio founded by industry veteran Stig Asmussen – got canceled. Noting that the project was still in its early concept stages, the company said that it has “great respect for Asmussen and his team” and that it values “our ongoing relationship”.
The cancellation of this project, alongside other unnamed ones, led to Hasbro writing down $56 million in impairment charges. In a recent earnings report, CEO Chris Cocks said that the write-down “reflects the standard we are applying to our portfolio” before going on to discuss how the company will better refocus its digital strategy. This will mean partnerships with companies like Scopely, TripleDot, Gameberry Labs, Ubisoft, and Gameloft.
“We are taking lower conviction projects out of the portfolio, reducing our annual spend base and concentrating investment behind the places where Hasbro has the best chance to build durable digital franchises: Magic, D&D, owned platforms, partner-led economics, and a concentrated number of high-conviction owned titles,” he said.
In the meantime, development on Exodus is continuing, and the title is slated launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S in 2027.
