According to a filing with the SEC on April 15th, the current president of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Gaming will be stepping down at the end of this month. Cynthia Williams held the position for two years. The previous holder of the position, Chris Cocks, is currently CEO of Hasbro.
Independent gaming news outlet Rascal broke the story earlier this morning on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. According to Hasbro, the company does not have a successor for the position lined up. The search is on for her replacement.
Williams came to the company from Microsoft. She was General Manager and Vice President, Gaming Ecosystem Commercial Team for their Xbox division. Her selection led many to believe that Wizards of the Coast was looking to expand into the digital space. Shortly after taking the position, Wizards of the Coast acuired D&D Beyond and has since made it central to their marketing strategy.
The company saw some of its highest moments within the two years of her tenure. Wizards of the Coast’s earnings were a bright spot during a tumultuous few years for parent company Hasbro. The company capitalized on the popularity of Dungeons & Dragons to release the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves film as well as create its own FAST channel, D&D Adventures.
There were also moves that cost the company goodwill and potentially affected sales. The handling of D&D’s OGL damaged relationships with third party publishers and caused many fans to seek out new games to play and support. The company also employed Pinkertons to reclaim accidentally leaked Magic The Gathering product in a reaction deemed too harsh by fans of the game.
Dungeons & Dragons is the most popular that it has ever been. The film was well-recieved by fans and looks to be a cult classic in the making. Even more new fans came to the game from the massive breakout hit Baldur’s Gate 3, a computer game adaptation of D&D that’s both a critical favorite and a massive financial success.
While the company celebrates Dungeons & Dragons’ 50th Anniversary, the game stands at a crossroads. The new versions of Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual and Dungeon Masters Guide need to thread the needle between being welcoming to new fans of the game while also offering new content that fans already invested in Dungeons & Dragons will want to purchase. Change too much and fans will be upset over deciding which rules to use for their games. Change too little and old fans won’t see the need to spend money on books that work the same way as their current ones do.
Williams last day as president is April 26th, 2024. A spokesperson for Wizards of the Coast had this to say when Rascal News reached out for a comment:
“We’re excited for Cynthia to take the next step in her career and grateful for the contributions she has made in her more than two years at Wizards and Hasbro. We wish her the absolute best in her next endeavor. We have started the search for our next President of Wizards of the Coast and hope to have a successor in place soon.”
