Wizards of the Coast creatives form union, urge company to halt generative AI push

The Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering teams at Wizards of the Coast are unionizing, and are calling on Hasbro and Wizards leadership to stop pushing generative AI. Read more

The creative workers behind Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gatherings, Duel Masters, and other games have come together to unionize. On Tuesday, the workers informed their employer Wizards of the Coast, a publisher of card and role-playing games, that they planned to unionize. They have joined a union called United Wizards of the Coast, which was first started by Magic: The Gathering workers and laborers in April, and is represented by the Communications Workers of America (CWA), a labor union that supports workers across industries in getting representation. Unionizing employees include designers, artists, writers, producers, and workers.  Wizards of the Coast has seven asks of management:  Wages that reflect our work and defined career progression Job security against mounting industry instability Reliable and easily accessible healthcare for us and our families Sustainable workloads and practices, including remote and hybrid working Protection against the encroachment of AI Full ownership of the work we create outside of the office And additional needs outlined in our individual units’ goals AI pressure from leadership has “ramped up” As is the case across industries, AI is one of the concerns. The union calls out “forced AI use” under a goal to improve worker conditions.  In an April letter announcing its formation, United Wizards of the Coast stated, “Over the past few years, pressure has ramped up from leadership to adopt LLMs and Gen AI tools in various aspects of our work at WOTC, often over the explicit concerns of impacted employees. WOTC lacks a robust AI policy, leaving opportunities for abuse and communicating a level of disrespect for artists and other creatives. We want to establish clear guidelines around AI, emphasizing worker protections.” Wizards of the Coast is leading Hasbro’s growth Gaming and toy company Hasbro has owned Wizards of the Coast since 1999.  Worth noting is Hasbro’s second-quarter earnings report, published in July, which showcased how important Wizards of the Coast—and, thus, its employees’ work—is to the company’s success. Hasbro reported a 16% increase in revenue year-over-year (YOY), with a 27% growth for Wizards and Digital Gaming.  “Hasbro posted another quarter of topline growth, led by Wizards of the Coast,” Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said in the report. “Magic: The Gathering eclipsed $500 million in quarterly revenue for the first time in its 30-plus-year history, led by the record-breaking debut of Marvel Super Heroes. He added that “the Magic flywheel is firing on all cylinders.” Comparatively, Hasbro’s other pillars, Consumer Products and Entertainment, rose 5% and fell 20% YOY, respectively.  United Wizards of the Coast has given Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro until Tuesday, October 13, to voluntarily recognize the union.   Fast Company has reached out to Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro for comment. We will update this post if we hear back. (Editor’s disclosure: Fast Company and Inc. newsrooms are represented by the Writers Guild of America East.)

If successful, this unionization effort would bring almost every Wizards of the Coast IP under union representation