John Hight, president of Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming at Hasbro, will step down from the role on September 1, 2026, according to a US Securities and Exchange Commission filing from parent company Hasbro.

After two years leading the division, Hight will not be leaving entirely. He will transition into an advisory role under what Hasbro has called a Transitional Advisory Services Agreement, a formal arrangement disclosed in the SEC filing dated July 27 StreetInsider. Wizards of the Coast confirmed the transition in a statement to GamesIndustry.biz Eurogamer.

Hight's official title — President of Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming — covers the tabletop and digital portfolio of a company best known for Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. Hasbro owns Wizards of the Coast, and the division has been a significant revenue driver for the toy and entertainment conglomerate.

Hight joined Wizards of the Coast in 2024, arriving from Blizzard Entertainment, where he oversaw World of Warcraft as a general manager. His appointment was part of a broader executive reshuffle under Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, who himself previously led the Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming segment before ascending to the top job at Hasbro.

The transition adds a new layer to the leadership history at Wizards of the Coast. The division has now seen its top role held by three people in a relatively short span: Cocks, Hight, and whoever Hasbro names next. Hasbro has not yet announced a successor.

For players and fans, a president's departure rarely means immediate changes to the games or products they love. Magic: The Gathering release schedules and Dungeons & Dragons publishing plans are set well in advance. What a leadership shift can affect is longer-term strategy — licensing deals, digital initiatives, and the direction of live-service projects that take years to unfold.

No reason was given for Hight's transition beyond the advisory arrangement itself. The SEC filing, the standard mechanism by which publicly traded US companies disclose material executive changes, sets the effective date as September 1.

Hight's two-year tenure places his departure in a period of significant investment by Hasbro in its digital gaming ambitions. Whether the next president continues that trajectory, adjusts it, or sets an entirely different course will become clearer once a successor is named.