Dungeons & Dragons is the world’s largest role-playing game and the inspiration for countless worlds, movies, books, and video games. The studio behind the IP, Wizards of the Coast, has a new head since 2024 who would like to see a new D&D MMORPG. How it works, he must know: He worked at Blizzard for almost 13 years and was responsible for WoW.
Who is the head?
- John Hight worked at Blizzard between 2011 and 2024, originally as Senior Producer for Mists of Pandaria, one of WoW’s most popular expansions.
- Later, Hight became the General Manager of the entire Warcraft franchise. In June 2024, John Hight left Blizzard as one of the last “old” heads.
- Since August 2024, Hight has been the president of Wizards of the Coast. Already in June of this year Hight commented on a new D&D role-playing game – now he talks about a possible MMORPG.
This is what John Hight says about a new D&D MMORPG: In an interview with gamesindustry.biz, Hight talks about the franchises under his leadership, Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering, about challenges and success.
When noting that it is strange that there is no current MMORPG in the franchise after the growing popularity of D&D, Hight says:
I would love to have that. I think we need to rethink what an MMO looks like in today’s age. The traditional model that Blizzard – actually Ultima Online and Everquest before that – has pursued could use an update.
I think, in our case, it’s probably “Crawling, Walking, Running.” We need to make sure that we gather talents that have backend technology and plans to follow. That’s just a spark in my eyes. I want to see it happen.
Hight drops “constantly” small hints in his team so that they think about the possibility of an MMORPG. Technology can help make many things possible or simpler that were previously complicated. However, he does not get more specific about it.
Hight also notes that he would like to connect more media together. A D&D book or a campaign for the movie Honor Among Thieves
would be nice:
Dungeons & Dragons already has 2 major MMORPGs
With Dungeons & Dragons Online and Neverwinter Online, there are already two MMORPGs that officially play in the world of D&D. Both are still active but are already quite old.
Neverwinter Online, the newer of the two, was released in 2013, but promises updates and improvements for 2025. However, the latest and greatest success for D&D in the video game sector is Baldur’s Gate 3.
In the further interview, Hight also talks about the possibility of using artificial intelligence. He clearly states: AI should only have a supporting role, if at all. Everything that is created – whether the voices of speakers in games or the art on Magic cards – should come from humans.
He also explains that Wizards of the Coast has a team of developers in its digital department, all of whom share a passion for D&D and work on story-driven role-playing games. This makes it easier to allocate resources: If you pull someone away to help elsewhere, the genre and setting remain the same.
Hight explains: “It’s not like we’re trying to take them from a soccer game to a racing game to an RPG.” With the current course, Wizards of the Coast is indeed successful and has already helped the parent company Hasbro out of trouble several times: One of the most famous game manufacturers of your childhood is currently struggling, but could completely dominate gaming
