Publisher Perfect World Entertainment and developer Cryptic Studios announced the development of an MMORPG based on the trading card game Magic: The Gathering, owned by Hasbro's Wizards of the Coast.
Magic, the most popular strategy card game in the world that was first released in 1993, allows players to summon creatures and cast spells to beat their opponents in a variety of formats. The upcoming MMORPG, however, will show a side of the card game that players have never experienced before, according to Perfect World Entertainment CEO Bryan Huang.
'Magic: The Gathering' MMORPG Coming Soon
In the press release announcing it, the upcoming game based on Magic: The Gathering is described as an AAA RPG that is being developed from scratch for both consoles and PC.
"We are ecstatic about the direction of the game Cryptic has been shaping," Huang said, adding that it has always been the publisher's dream to bring Magic into a modern RPG.
"Everything from the graphics to the gameplay is being targeted for a truly unique AAA game," said Cryptic Studios CEO Stephen D'Angelo, who hinted that the worlds and characters of Magic lore will be featured in the MMORPG but seen through a new way. The developer is also said to be ramping up the production of the game at its headquarters in Los Gatos.
"My intent is to go forward with a Magic game that is not about the card game," said D'Angelo.
There have been previous Magic video games in the past, but most of them were simply digital versions of the card game, such as the free-to-play Magic Duels that is available on the iOS, Xbox One, and PC. There have also been a few Magic games that were not focused on cards, such as Battlegrounds from 2003 that featured real-time combat and Magic: The Gathering Puzzle Quest, a mobile game that combines elements of the card game with match-three puzzles.
An MMORPG based on Magic will be the first of its kind and will likely draw upon the expansive storyline that the card game has created over the years. It will also continue the partnership between Perfect World Entertainment, Cryptic Studios, and Wizards of the Coast, as the three companies had already previously worked together on Neverwinter. The free-to-play MMORPG for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, which has over 15 million registered players, is based on Dungeons & Dragons, a tabletop RPG also owned by Wizards of the Coast.
Further details regarding the MMORPG will be released at a later date, including its storyline, gameplay mechanics, and release schedule.
The Lore Of 'Magic: The Gathering'
Over its 24-year lifespan, Magic has accumulated more than 20 million players across 70 countries, with the card game available in 11 languages.
While Magic is a strategy game, its cards and expansions are supported by lore that has stretched across numerous planes and storylines. Its recent sets have focused on the Gatewatch, a team of powerful beings known as Planeswalkers that was formed to counter the threat of the Eldrazi, an ancient race.
In its latest expansion, Amonkhet, the Gatewatch find themselves in an Egyptian-inspired plane that is ruled by Nicol Bolas, one of the most powerful planeswalkers in Magic lore and one of the game's most popular villains.
