Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering Teams to Join Union

The employees at Hasbro who design Dungeons and Dragons as well as Magic: The Gathering are forming their own union in partnership with the Communication Workers of America and are calling on the company to recognize them.

“As of this morning, both the Dungeons & Dragons team (which includes the workers behind Dungeons & Dragons and D&D Beyond) and Studio X (which includes the tabletop Magic: The Gathering and Duel Masters teams) informed Wizards of the Coast leadership of our intent to unionize, and called on the company to voluntarily recognize our union,” United Wizards of the Coast said in a statement posted on social media.

They have asked the public to sign a petition in support of them and for Hasbro leadership to recognize the union within a week of the announcement.

“The games we create are foundations of the gaming industry. Just as D&D has inspired countless TTRPGs and Magic sparked the TCG revolution, we hope to catalyze real change within our industry and build upon the groundwork laid by other gaming unions, creating a space where all workers are protected and treated fairly,” the press statement added. “The workers of Wizards of the Coast have shown time and time again that we change the game. This is one of those times, where we get to redefine what is possible and what can be created—and this time, we’re inviting you to join us! Sign our petition, share it with your communities, and ask Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro to voluntarily recognize our union. Let’s change the gaming world together!”

The team filed an election petition with the National Labor Relations Board and has asked WOTC leadership to recognize it by October 13. If it is voluntarily recognized, they will withdraw the petition. If not, both parties will face a lengthy confirmation process.

The union is calling for improved wages, job security, accessible healthcare, sustainable workloads, protections against AI, full ownership of their work, and other needs to be met.

One notable detail D&D’s team revealed in their letter to WOTC was a lack of control over their creative expression. “Currently, if an employee makes anything creative in their free time, with their own resources, Hasbro can claim ownership. What we do in our free time should not be dictated by the company, and what we make in our free time should belong to us,” the letter stated. The formation of the union would ideally allow them more control over future creations and outputs.

The unionization received a lot of support on social media, including from more politically oriented advocates like Brennan Lee Mulligan.

United Wizards of the Coast was previously formed in April 2026 to represent game devs making Magic: The Gathering Arena. While the union was addressed at the time, it didn’t receive recognition in communications from WOTC leadership and may even have been discouraged. It was later successful after an NLRB vote in June 2026.

Many questions remain about the initiative's future, given Hasbro’s past resistance to unionization and work with anti-union Pinkertons.

D&D’s unionization arrives after Rowan Rook and Deckard and Paizo have both formed their own unions, and could lead to the formation of the largest union in the tabletop market.

The CWA has represented multiple game developers in the past, including staff at Blizzard Entertainment and Id Software.

TTRPG Insider will be keeping track of this story going into the coming weeks.

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In related news, the D&D team previewed the upcoming World of Warcraft expansion for the press, and TTRPG Insider got to cover it.

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