Magic lawsuit over overprinting cards voluntarily dismissed, but Hasbro still on the hook

The shareholder lawsuit filed in Rhode Island federal court last month accusing Hasbro of misleading investors and overprinting Magic: The Gathering cards has been voluntarily dismissed. On Feb. 17, plaintiffs Joseph Crocono and Ultan McGlone filed a document to dismiss the case “without prejudice,” ending the case before any formal court decision could be made. That means the case can be refiled at a future date.

Originally filed on Jan. 21 as a shareholder derivative complaint, the lawsuit named Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks, former Wizards of the Coast president Cynthia Williams, and other members of the company’s leadership. It alleged that executives misled investors between September 2021 and October 2023 about the risks tied to Magic’s rapid growth.

The case derived from a separate but related securities class action lawsuit filed in federal court in New York. That case alleges that Hasbro misled investors between 2022 and 2023 about inventory levels and the sustainability of the company’s growth. The derivative complaint sought damages on behalf of Hasbro itself. In the filing, the plaintiffs argue that executives negatively impacted the company with allegedly misleading public statements during earnings calls.

The voluntary dismissal comes a few weeks after Hasbro filed a motion to dismiss the securities class action case. In that filing, Hasbro argued that the complaint fails to prove executives actually made false statements or caused investor harm.

In a statement previously shared with Polygon, Hasbro said these sorts of claims “have no merit,” adding that its strategic plan for Magic “was implemented, and the results underscore the strength of that strategy.” The company pointed to the latest earnings results published on Feb. 10 that indicated Magic had its most successful year ever in 2025 thanks in no small part to the runaway success of the Final Fantasy crossover released in June, along with other popular releases. (Final Fantasy sold $200 million in a single day.)

The original complaint focused heavily on Magic’s importance to Hasbro’s overall operations. In 2021, Wizards of the Coast generated $547 million of Hasbro’s $763.3 million in operating profit. Hasbro also proudly proclaimed that Magic became the company’s first billion-dollar brand in 2022. The suit alleged that executives downplayed risks associated with inventory levels during a time period when analysts raised concerns about potential oversupply created by overprinting cards.

The dismissal does not necessarily indicate that these allegations were unequivocally false. Because the case was withdrawn without any ruling having occurred, a revised version of it can still be refiled at a later date. Still, it’s a development that lessens the legal scrutiny facing Hasbro at a time when it and Magic seem stronger, at least financially, than ever before.