03 Aug
Posted by David Miller as CCGs, Electronic Games
Hasbro today announced that the next product to come out of its Magic Digital Next initiative will be Magic: The Gathering Arena. “Designed for Magic fans and beyond,” Arena will feature “AAA graphics” and serve as a platform for growing Magic as an esport, said Chris Cocks, head of Wizards of the Coast.
Magic: The Gathering Arena is currently in alpha testing and will open to public beta testing in the fall (details of that process to be revealed September 7th on the Magic Twitch channel).
This announcement follows recent news of a Magic MMO being developed by Cryptic Studios and a highly anticipated schedule of set releases leading in to the card game’s 25th anniversary next summer. In September, Ixalan will release with vampires, dinosaurs, and pirates. December will see Unstable, a unconventional, silver-bordered, un-set (not legal for standard tournament play), followed by a 25th Anniversary Masters set in March 2018 and Dominaria in April. Core sets are also returning, with one scheduled for next July.
According to WOTC, 2017 has already seen a 27 percent increase in the number of new Magic players and a 150 percent increase in viewers of events on its Twitch channel.