Magic video game

In 2017, Chris Cocks (then the CEO of Wizards of the Coast) started an effort to continue the expansion of the firm's intellectual property into video games. This concerned both Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons.
==History==
By December of 2017, a half-dozen video-games were in development for Magic: the Gathering.Brian Crecente (December 27, 2017), "Chasing Innovation Inside the Company Behind D&D, Magic and Avalon Hill", Rollingstone.com</ref>Zac Clark (February 8, 2018). "Wizards of the Coast President Chris Cocks on MTG Arena and the Future of Digital Magic", Hipstersofthecoast.com 
===Cryptic ARPG===
Development of a free-to-play Magic themed role-playing videogame was announced on June 7, 2017.Mike Minotti (June 7, 2017). "Magic: the Gathering is becoming an MMO". Venturebeat.com 
Originally marketed as an MMORPG (massively-multiplayer online role-playing game) it was to be a collaboration between Wizards of the Coast, Cryptic Studios and Perfect World. Cryptic Studios is an American video game developer specializing in massively multiplayer online role-playing games.www.crypticstudios.com/magic It is responsible for the major MMO hits Star Trek Online, Champions Online and Neverwinter (based on WotC-owned Dungeons & Dragons). 
Cryptic Studios CEO Stephen D'Angelo explained that his "intent is to go forward with a Magic game that is not about the card game. It's about jumping into the world and the fiction of Magic: The Gathering." Brandan Sinclair (June 7, 2017). "Taking an IP and making it your own". Gamesindustry.biz
The name of the game, Magic: Legends, was officially revealed on December 12, 2019, at The Game Awards, a year and a half after the game was announced to be in development. It will shut down on October 31, 2021, due to poor financial performance.Steve Ricossa (Jun 29, 2021). "Magic: Legends Shutting Down October 31, 2021". www.playmagiclegends.com
===Netmarble MOBA===
On February 5, 2018, Wizards of the Coast and South Korean mobile phone giant Netmarble Games announced they were working on Project M, the codename for a new game for smartphones coming sometime in that year.Project M (YouTube) They called Project M a “multiplayer battling game” in which “players show off their creativity and strategy as they battle across the planes of the "Magic: The Gathering Multiverse", and “game avatars will be fully animated as they race across the battlefield to defeat their opponent.” The released video and images look like a multiplayer online battle arena, or MOBA.Jason Wilson (February 5, 2018). "Magic: The Gathering and Netmarble announce ‘Project M’ for mobile", Venturebeat.com
ManaStrike officially launched globally on January 30, 2020. In November 2020, less than a year after its launch, a termination notice was posted in the game's official forum. The game servers remained open until February 24, 2021.
===Planesiege===
On January 23, 2018, WOTC filed two new trademarks: "Manastrike" (later revealed to be the Netmarble game) and "Planesiege". The latter also specifically refers to electronic, online multiplayer gaming.New WOTC Trademarks and Domain Registrations
===Tuque Games===
In October 2019, Wizards of the Coast acquired Montreal-based Tuque Games. Tuque had already been working on a game using Wizards' Dungeons & Dragons license and aimed to continue to work on video games employing the tabletop gaming company's stable of brands. Their first result was Dungeons & Dragons: Dark Alliance.
===Expansion===
By 2022, Hasbro / Wizards of the coast had six Video studios, many working on unannounced projects: Skeleton Key, Atomic Arcade, an unnamed studio in Eastgate, Washington, Archetype Entertainment, Tuque Games and MTG Arena. In october 2022, Tuque Games was renamed to Invoke Studios.
===Post-pandemic relapse===
In 2023, Wizards of the Coast canceled at least five D&D or Magic video games amid a post-pandemic contraction in the video game industry.
===Expanding again===
As of 2024, Hasbro is looking to invest more in Magic's video-game format. Sales of the fantasy card game have grown each of the last six years, and in 2022 crossed $1 billion in revenue. Cocks', now CEO of Hasbro, remarked that Magic Arena, while popular, didn’t harness Magic's two biggest growth areas: collectability and its 'Commander format, which involves more players and cards.
As of December 2024, Hasbro is testing a video game version of Commander, which would potentially be separate from Arena and allow for more than two players to compete. Hasbro is also looking to make the digital versions of its cards more collectible, like the popular game Marvel Snap.
==References==
Category:Visual media