John Hight, a longtime exec at Blizzard Entertainment who led the Microsoft-owned gaming giant’s World of Warcraft arm, has joined Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast as its new president.
Hight announced last month that he was leaving Blizzard, where he spent more than 12 years, first as an executive producer and vice president for WoW, and later as general manager of the Warcraft franchise.
Hight will also oversee Hasbro’s digital gaming business, which made up 42% of the toy and gaming giant’s revenue in the first quarter.
Former Wizards CEO Cynthia Williams stepped down in April. Williams was named CEO at toy maker Funko in May.
Hight will relocate from California and be based in the Seattle region, according to a spokesperson.
Renton, Wash.-based Wizards is known for its flagship games, Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.
Hasbro also announced Thursday that it hired former Bungie leader Holly Barbacovi as chief people officer. She previously was vice president of human resources for Wizards from 2016 to 2020 and was most recently chief operating officer and chief people officer at Bungie. She also spent 16 years at Microsoft.
