Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks is now directly overseeing Wizards of the Coast, following John Hight’s departure from the company behind Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons and a substantial video-game portfolio.
Hight’s move was disclosed in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing on 27 July, shortly after Hasbro’s latest earnings call. He stepped down as president of Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming on 1 September 2026, moving into a one-year advisory role.
Wizards reports directly to Hasbro’s CEO
With 1 September now reached, Hasbro has not named Hight’s successor or announced an interim president. Instead, Wizards’ existing leadership team will report directly to Cocks while the company conducts an internal and external search.
Hasbro has not provided a timetable for appointing a replacement. The temporary structure places the teams responsible for Magic, D&D and Wizards’ digital games immediately beneath the chief executive.
Hasbro has maintained that Wizards remains financially and operationally strong. The company said Magic and D&D continue to perform extremely well, while the two major video-game releases planned for 2027, Exodus and Warlock, remain on track.
John Hight moves into an advisory role
Hight said in a LinkedIn post that he was not retiring or disappearing. He wants more time for teaching, creative work and playing, considering and potentially making games.
“None of it happens because of one person,” Hight wrote, crediting the talented people whose creativity, expertise and passion support Wizards’ games.
The leadership group already includes executives promoted earlier in 2026. Rebecca Shepard became senior vice president and global play lead for Studio X, Wizards’ internal Magic organisation, while Aaron Forsythe became senior vice president of Magic design and creative, as outlined in Hight’s announcement.
Shepard oversees how players experience Magic across its various formats. Forsythe is responsible for wider design, creative direction and product innovation, with longtime head designer Mark Rosewater working within that creative structure.
D&D and digital games remain key priorities
Dan Ayoub continues to lead Dungeons & Dragons. He previously served as Hasbro’s senior vice president of digital games before taking charge of the D&D franchise in July 2025.
Ayoub has described a consolidated D&D model covering books, video games, film, television and other projects under one organisation. The strategy also brings crossover properties into D&D, reflecting the commercial approach behind Magic’s Universes Beyond. The first announced crossover, with World of Warcraft, is scheduled for release in November.
Wizards has not specified every executive included in the team now reporting to Cocks. The arrangement nevertheless gives the Hasbro chief direct oversight of the tabletop brands and digital-games operation during the search for a new Wizards president.
Cocks previously served as Wizards president from 2016 until becoming Hasbro CEO in 2022. During that earlier tenure, Magic experienced major growth. He has continued to identify the trading-card game as a significant source of Hasbro revenue.
A narrower gaming strategy
At Hasbro’s 21 July earnings call, Cocks presented a reassessment of the company’s digital-games portfolio. Several projects planned for 2028 and beyond were cancelled, resulting in a $56 million write-down.
The revised approach centres on “focus, cost discipline, ownable platforms and partnership”. Hasbro plans to concentrate digital investment on trading-card games and role-playing games, particularly Magic, D&D, Arena and D&D Beyond, while making greater use of development and publishing partners.
The transition agreement with Hight was reached six days after that earnings call. For readers tracking the wider business behind tabletop and digital play, RETROCADE’s Arcade Blog covers developments across the arcade and gaming industries.
More D&D expansion is being planned
Hasbro recently advertised three senior roles for a dedicated D&D Universes Beyond team. One listing seeks a principal game designer to help define the next generation of Dungeons & Dragons play.
The roles describe new collaborative experiences, formats and audiences beyond the announced World of Warcraft and Star Wars products.
In a March interview, Cocks described games as one of Hasbro’s three main business areas, anchored by Wizards of the Coast. He said Magic and D&D operate through a hybrid model involving Hasbro’s digital, entertainment and licensing divisions.
When asked who resolves competing priorities between those divisions, Cocks answered: “Usually, it’s me.” With no Wizards president currently positioned between him and the division’s senior leadership, that responsibility has become even more direct.
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