A recent lawsuit against Magic: The Gathering Owner Hasbro claims company executives committed gross mismanagement, violated fiduciary duties and unjustly enriched themselves by overproducing cards for the popular game.
Filed in Rhode Island on January 21, the executives – CEO Chris Cocks, several current and former board members and former Wizards of the Coast president Cynthia Williams – are being sued by Joseph Crocono and Ultan McGlone, who have held shares since the early 2020s. The two men claim that comments made during Hasbro shareholder calls between 2021 and 2023 were “materially false and misleading…[and] caused substantial harm to the Company by causing it to repurchase its own shares at artificially inflated prices.
Quote The magic popular among collectors, the 76-page lawsuit notes that the cards can fetch “more than thousands of dollars on the secondary market.” To further support its claims, the suit highlights a Bank of America 2022 Report who warned of the “oversupply” of Magic the cards “have supported Hasbro’s recent results but are destroying the long-term value of the brand.” Thus, the company was able to repurchase 1.4 million shares for $125 million between April and July 2022, overpaying itself by $55.9 million.
Magic: The Gathering Gamers have noticed Hasbro’s aggressive efforts in recent years, in part due to Universes Beyond and Secret Lair Crossovers with big brands. Hasbro hasn’t been shy about talking about the results of these sets, like giving a shoutout to Beyond. Fantasy Finale together in 2025 when it was a major revenue generator for the company. It is believed that the overproduction of cards (particularly from September 2023 to October 2023) allowed the company to fill gaps elsewhere in its business, as it would cost less to remake new cards than to create entirely new ones.
This lawsuit comes just weeks before Hasbro’s earnings call on February 10, where it will reveal the financial performance of Magic: The Gathering during the previous financial year and quarter. As of this writing, the company has not made public comments on the lawsuit and io9 has requested comment.
[via Polygon and GoLocalProv]
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