The president of Wizards of the Coast will be stepping down from the role after only two years in the job.
John Hight, who became president of WotC after leaving his role as a general manager at Blizzard Entertainment, will be transitioning to another role on the 1st of September. This news came out via a US Securities and Exchange commission filing yesterday. After the 1st of September, he’ll continue as an advisor to the company.
This reveal comes only a week after Hasbro – the parent company of Wizards of the Coast – announced a $56m impairment charge against its gaming division and the cancellation of several in-development video games.
While games like Exodus and Warlock: Dungeons and Dragons are safe, other games being worked on are seemingly dead as the company pivots to its major franchises.
Wizards of the Coast has provided a statement to Gamesindustry.biz, which reads as follows:
“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.”
Exodus has proven to be an interesting Mass-Effect-Like, bringing the foundation from the beloved sci-fi trilogy forward with new ideas meant to freshen things up. Whether it and Warlock live up to Wizards of the Coast’s ambitions remains to be seen, but one hopes they do well enough to encourage more investment in the video game industry, not less.
