Dive Brief:
- Hasbro named Dan Ayoub as president of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Digital Games effective Monday, according to a company press release.
- Ayoub joined Wizards of the Coast in 2022 and was most recently the senior vice president of Dungeons & Dragons. He was selected after an internal and external search and is the first internal candidate promoted to the role.
- John Hight previously was the president of Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro Digital Games for two years. Prior to that, Cynthia Williams was also in the role for two years before she resigned.
Dive Insight:
Ayoub is leading a game he has been playing since he was 10.
He has played Dungeons & Dragons with the same group of friends since that age, and picked up Magic: The Gathering the year it launched, according to Hasbro.
Now, Ayoub will head up Magic, D&D, Duel Masters and Hasbro Digital Games, including Exodus and Warlock.
“Magic and D&D have been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and the teams behind them are among the best in the world,” Ayoub said in a statement. “We'll put fans first, respect the artists and creators who make these worlds come alive, and set an ambitious course for growth across tabletop and digital.”
He follows Hight, who stepped into a Wizards of the Coast advisory role on Sept. 1, according to an announcement on his LinkedIn page.
“I'm not disappearing, and I'm definitely not retiring,” Hight wrote. “I'm simply making room for a few things I've wanted to pursue for a long time: creative projects, teaching, and more time to play games, think about games, and maybe even make a few.”
Ayoub has been making video games for 25 years, and previously worked with Microsoft, where he was an executive producer and studio head at Halo studio 343 Industries.
Hasbro’s net revenues increased 15% year over year to $1.6 billion in its third quarter, largely driven by the Wizards of the Coast and Digital Gaming Segment. Revenue in that division increased 28%, led by Magic: The Gathering, which reported $600 million in quarterly revenue for the first time.
Hasbro recently announced the opening of Wizards of the Coast Studios in Montréal which is focused on developing content for Dungeons & Dragons and will support the Wizards of the Coast digital games portfolio.
“This studio will grow to be the largest concentration of video game talent at Hasbro, built on one of the world’s deepest game development ecosystems,” Ayoub said earlier in October in his previous role as head of D&D and Wizards of the Coast Canada.
