Wizards of the Coast already has two digital versions of Magic: The Gathering with Magic Duels and Magic Online. We also already know that a third version, Magic Digital Next, is in the works. Thanks to an earnings call from Hasbro earlier this week, we now know that Magic Digital Next is planned to release later this year.
For those that don’t know, Magic Digital Next is looking to establish a new market for Magic players. Magic Duels is intended to be an entry-level experience, aimed at those who have never played the card game before. On the other end of the spectrum, Magic Online is for the truly hardcore Magic player.
Magic Digital Next is instead for the player in the middle. “The greatest opportunity for Magic is to create a new digital experience leveraging contemporary technology to create a seamless digital experience that meets all the players needs from new players to pro players,” Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner said in a Hasbro investment announcement from 2015. “This is what we are investing in and we have a team in place to deliver the first new Magic Digital Next product in the next few years.”
A few years have passed, and Goldner has revealed more information on the project. In the earnings call from earlier this week, Goldner responded to a question about brand growth by saying there will be “we have Magic Digital Next, which has been an investment for a number of years and will continue to be a bit of investment this year because, of course, late this year, you'll start to see some of the evidence of what the team has been working on as they begin to put that platform out into the market.”
That’s not much information to go on, but we can expect Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast to announce more information soon. While E3 isn’t a big time for game announcements from the two companies, PAX East in March or PAX West in late August/early September would be the perfect opportunity to reach the most Magic players. Expect something during one of these two conventions.
So what do you think? Does Magic need another digital version? What do you hope Magic Digital Next does that the other two versions don’t? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
