During an event held by Goldman Sachs yesterday, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, alongside CFO Gina Goetter, provided a look at the future direction of Dungeons & Dragons. The chat started off with Cocks doubling down on his previous statements that Hasbro “is going all in on digital”, and that they are “working with the best in the business” on this digital shift.
The talk started off with Cocks taking credit for the growth of the Magic: The Gathering brand under his leadership, noting an increase from $400 million to $1.1 billion in revenue since he started at Wizards of the Coast eight years ago.
He proudly cited the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 as one of the key reasons for the company’s shift into digital. He also noted that people had been skeptical about the focus on digital games, saying “Could you even extend digitally as you are not Call of Duty or Need for Speed?”. This perspective seemingly overlooks the deep-rooted history of D&D in the digital realm. Notably, the franchise’s digital journey began with the release of Pool of Radiance in 1988, and the enduring success of earlier titles like Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 set a solid foundation for the latest installment.
The CEO also discussed new releases for WotC, including the release of new games starting in 2026 with a sci-fi IP named “Exodus,” described as D&D in space, and a new D&D game. Cocks goes on to compare Exodus to what Starcraft was to Warcraft. Continuing on, WOTC aims to release 1-2 new digital games per year, having previously stated that the company has invested over $1 billion into digital gaming and that there are 40 video games currently in production.
Cocks also explained that Hasbro aims to broaden MTG and D&D’s reach by incorporating more intellectual properties, with upcoming Final Fantasy and Marvel sets coming to MTG next year, to appeal to diverse audiences, including older demographics and female gamers.
Cocks ended the chat with a rather ominous quote about using AI to revolutionize player engagement, from campaign creation to emergent storytelling.
“Inside of development, we’ve already been using AI. It’s mostly machine-learning-based AI or proprietary AI as opposed to a ChatGPT approach. We will deploy it significantly and liberally internally as both a knowledge worker aid and as a development aid. I’m probably more excited though about the playful elements of AI. If you look at a typical D&D player….I play with probably 30 or 40 people regularly. There’s not a single person who doesn’t use AI somehow for either campaign development or character development or story ideas. That’s a clear signal that we need to be embracing it.
We need to do it carefully, we need to do it responsibly, we need to make sure we pay creators for their work, and we need to make sure we’re clear when something is AI-generated. But the themes around using AI to enable user-generated content, using AI to streamline new player introduction, using AI for emergent storytelling, I think you’re going to see that not just our hardcore brands like D&D but also multiple of our brands.”
Firstly, Cocks’ assertion that all 30-40 D&D players he knows use AI may be more indicative of his immediate circle rather than the broader community. While it’s true that many Dungeon Masters and players do incorporate AI tools, a significant portion of the community remains skeptical or outright opposed to their use. This sentiment has been underscored by multiple controversies and the noticeable backlash against Wizards of the Coast regarding the use of AI.
So there you have it. Chris Cocks isn’t just steering WOTC towards a fully digital future; he also believes that embracing AI in D&D is inevitable. What do you think? Will we all be enjoying D&D as an AI-driven Baldur’s Gate 3 clone in a few years, or will the AI hype bubble burst before that happens? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Source: Tabletop Gaming News
