Hasbro CEO: Time to Give AI a Seat at the D&D Game Table

AI is already being used in game development — but it could soon go even further when it comes to the roleplaying games that millions of people play, says Hasbro’s CEO.

At a Thursday Goldman Sachs event, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said that the company is using AI internally to help develop games in “mostly machine-learning-based AI or proprietary AI as opposed to a ChatGPT approach.” Hasbro will use AI in the future as a knowledge and development assistant, giving the technology a seat at the game table.

Development is just one part of the broader AI puzzle, though. Cocks says he’s more excited about how the technology could impact the day-to-day gameplay of Hasbro’s customers.

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“If you look at a typical D&D player… I play with probably 30 or 40 people regularly,” Cocks said. “There’s not a single person who doesn’t use AI somehow for either campaign development or character development or story ideas. That’s a clear signal that we need to be embracing it.”

Cocks gave examples of AI helping D&D players with storytelling and introductions and said that those use cases could apply to other brands within the company. Hasbro’s portfolio includes Transformers, Star Wars, and Marvel. Over 50 million people around the world play Dungeons & Dragons.

In an interview with Entrepreneur in July, Cocks said that one of the most exciting projects he was working on was a refresh of Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition. He also spoke more broadly about how Hasbro balances tradition with innovation as a company in business for over 100 years.

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“While history doesn’t repeat, it definitely rhymes — so major technology innovations and major changes in entertainment are something Hasbro has faced many, many times,” he said at the time. “Probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned from it is to embrace the change and not fight it. When we embrace [change], we win, and we come out on top.”

Cocks also emphasized the importance of safe, responsible AI development at the event on Thursday, and stated that he wanted to pay creators for their work and make sure to label AI-generated content.

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