John Hight, the president of Wizards of the Coast, will be stepping down on September 1. The news was given through a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing on July 27.
The filing notes that Hight will continue employment with the company as an advisor after September 1.
Hight joined Wizards of the Coast two years ago, in August 2024. He was previously general manager for the Warcraft franchise at Blizzard, where he worked for nearly 13 years.
As head of Wizards of the Coast, he oversaw the Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering franchises, as well as a range of video game titles currently in development, including the sci-fi RPG Exodus.
Hasbro, the owner of Wizards of the Coast, recorded a $56 million impairment charge against its video game portfolio last week, confirming it has cancelled “several” games scheduled for release in 2028 and beyond.
Wizards of the Coast provided the following statement to GamesIndustry.biz:
“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.”
GamesIndustry.biz spoke to Hight last year, when he expressed interest in making a new Dungeons and Dragons MMO. “I’d love to have that,” he said. “I think that we’ll want to rethink what an MMO is in this day and age. I think the traditional model that Blizzard – well, even before that, Ultima Online, Everquest – pursued, that could use updating.”
At the time of the interview, a team of developers that were formerly working on EA’s cancelled Black Panther game had just joined Wizards of the Coast to work on a new title. The team was led by veteran creative director Michael de Plater, who was a key figure at Monolith Productions, and director of 2014’s Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. No further details have since been released on what the team is working on.
Hight also talked in the interview about Wizards of the Coast’s collaboration with Stig Asmussen, the director of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Asmussen’s studio Giant Skull was working with the company on an action-adventure game set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe – but in May this year, Wizards of the Coast announced that it had ended its publishing agreement with Giant Skull.
