Wizards of the Coast is refusing to grant voluntary recognition to a union drive by its Dungeons & Dragons and Studio X teams. Staff will instead vote on joining in a secret-ballot election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.
According to Wargamer, the union, United Wizards of the Coast-CWA, announced the decision on Twitter/X on Wednesday, October 14, and a company spokesperson confirmed it.
Wargamer obtained an email apparently sent to Wizards’ US staff, in which the company says it is “not neutral on the question of unionization.” It adds that it prefers to deal with staff directly rather than through unions.
The email says eligible employees have the right to decide for themselves, and that Wizards will honor the outcome of the election whichever way they vote.
It also lists subsidized medical benefits, five weeks of paid time off, annual bonuses at 200% of target in 2025, and a 20% rise in individual contributors’ average base salary since 2023.
Staff on both teams said they intend to unionize on October 6 and asked the company to recognize the union by October 13.
The union’s stated aims include fair pay, promotion routes and job security, remote work protections, and better healthcare.
The union is calling for an enforceable AI policy. In the petition it published when the D&D and Studio X teams announced their drive, workers said leadership had pushed for generative AI without regard for their teams’ wishes.
It is also seeking ownership of what employees create in their own time, a demand it first made when the Arena team announced its union in April. Wizards and Hasbro missed the deadline to voluntarily recognize that union in May.
United Wizards of the Coast-CWA was formed by the Magic: The Gathering Arena team, which voted to unionize in June by 79 votes to 16.
Wizards of the Coast is part of Hasbro, whose second-quarter results show its Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment made an operating profit of $567.7 million on revenue of $1.25 billion in the first six months of 2026.
Over the same period, Hasbro’s Entertainment segment made an operating profit of $22.9 million, while Consumer Products posted an operating loss of $62.0 million.