Magic: The Gathering Arena Coming to Consoles in 2023

Wizards of the Coast is planning to release its digital Magic: The Gathering game on consoles later this year. During Hasbro's quarterly conference call, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks announced that Magic: The Gathering Arena would likely be released on consoles sometime in 2023. A Steam version of the game is also expected to be released later this year. No other details about which consoles Magic: The Gathering Arena would come to were provided. The rather offhand announcement represents a major expansion for the digital version of Magic: The Gathering, which remains the most popular collectible card game in the world. Currently, Magic: The Gathering Arena can be downloaded directly from Wizards' website for use on PC and Mac computers and can be downloaded via the Apple App and Google Play Store for Android and iOS devices. Assumably, the console versions will include crossplay similar to the other versions of the game, although this also wasn't confirmed during the call. 

During the reports call, Cocks noted that Hasbro sees Magic: The Gathering Arena as an important part of Magic: The Gathering's ongoing success, with the game seen as the primary way to bring in new Magic players. The game includes a free tutorial and several starter decks, as well as various ways for players to quickly accumulate cards either for free, through season passes, or via digital card pack purchases. Magic: The Gathering Arena also includes multiple formats for play, including a digital only "Alchemy" format that features digital-only mechanics and rebalanced cards. 

Magic: The Gathering continues to be a major part of Hasbro's business strategy. Cocks noted during the sales call that Magic: The Gathering consisted of about 70%-80% of Wizards of the Coast's total revenue and that every major Magic: The Gathering set released in 2022 had sales in excess of $100 million.