Hasbro Fires Key Dungeons & Dragons Creator: A Sign of Troubling Times?

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In a previous piece, I discussed Hasbro and their tendency to overexploit successful ventures, akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. Just as I wrapped up that article, it appears they’ve done so again, this time seemingly targeting one of their most profitable franchises – Dungeons & Dragons.

According to a post made by him on X, Christopher Perkins has declared that he will be stepping down from his position as Creative Director at Wizards of the Coast, which is part of Hasbro Inc., the company that manages the extensive Dungeons & Dragons intellectual property.

What’s the significance here? This individual was one of the original few who had been associated with the franchise for approximately 28 years. He began his career writing for Dungeon Magazine way back in 1988, and subsequently rose through the ranks to become editor-in-chief of Wizard’s publications a few years later. His subsequent roles included working directly on the development of the D&D game, first as senior producer, then as story manager for the fourth edition in 2007 before assuming the role of senior story designer in 2018.

After a while, he was advanced to the position of Game Design Architect, eventually reaching the role of Creative Director. Throughout his extended tenure with the franchise, he additionally ran a blog named “The Dungeon Master Experience” for more than two years and contributed to several independent adventure modules.

It’s quite plausible that the reason for Chris’s declaration might simply be what it seems: after 28 years, perhaps he grew weary of Dungeons & Dragons and opted to devote more time to his loved ones instead.

Instead, it appears that the team at Wizards of the Coast have been intentionally distancing themselves from, or even dismissing, many individuals closely linked to the game’s early days, such as Gary Gygax, his son Ernie G. Gygax Jr., and Rob Kuntz. Given their controversial backgrounds, it could be that Hasbro also chose to exclude Chris in relation to Dungeons & Dragons.

Should it be accurate, it would indeed be regrettable, not only for the numerous players he motivated throughout almost three decades, but also for the team as a whole.

Just like many other established intellectual properties, letting go of the primary creative minds who’ve nurtured and grown these franchises usually results in unfavorable outcomes. (*Star Wars* is a prime example…).

It’s uncertain if Hasbro and Wizards continue to employ Chris in a creative advisory role. However, should they decide not to keep him on board and wish to maximize profits from one of their few profitable properties, they should act swiftly.

At first glance, Chris’s predicament with Dungeons & Dragons appears strikingly comparable to that of John Warden, a notable figure whom Hasbro unexpectedly let go, often referred to as one of their golden geese.

Back in 2014, John took over as the head designer for the Transformers toy series, following his earlier work on Hasbro’s Star Wars and G.I. Joe collections. He’s recognized for bringing new life to the Transformers toy line with the highly successful War for Cybertron trilogies, whose design principles are still utilized today. Notably, he also spearheaded the launch of Hasbro’s first crowd-funded Transformer, the colossal cosmic devourer known as Unicron.

To acknowledge his achievement, Hasbro transferred him from his previous role to lead their struggling Power Rangers and Ghostbusters intellectual properties on a global scale, with the aim of reviving them. However, in 2024, they brought him back to work on Transformers and G.I Joe as the Director of Product Design, hoping to rekindle interest in these brands once more.

It’s said that he developed a unified plan, blending elements from both Transformers and G.I. Joe, which seems to align with the recent news about the upcoming Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover movie, as announced by Hasbro.

After 25 years of dedicated work, Hasbro unexpectedly terminated him in October, during their latest wave of redundancies. As he put it, “We didn’t receive much notice, and it caught us off guard.

Despite CEO Chris Cocks’ intent to shift Hasbro away from toy production as counter-intuitive, the dismissal of Warden and departure of Chris Perkins can be seen as a corporate equivalent of cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face. It’s highly likely that these brands will struggle again in their absence, potentially facing difficulty.

After being let go, Warden created a GoFundMe to cover his family’s medical bills, which was generously supported by dedicated fans. Even more excitingly, he seems to have found new opportunities as he is now collaborating with The Loyal Subjects on their latest project – the M.A.S.K. toy line. Interestingly enough, the manufacturing rights for this production were actually granted by Hasbro themselves.

Moving forward with Hasbro, it’s challenging to predict the outcome, as their latest moves don’t seem to boost my trust.

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2025-04-17 21:57