Digital Game Studio
The Digital Game Studio is a Wizards of the Coast department created by President Chris Cocks in January 2017, in a bid to improve on the digital experience of Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and other games. In Cocks's words: they should become "more efficient, connected, and convenient."[1] The sudio focuses on Magic: The Gathering Arena and digital Dungeons & Dragons.
History
The Digital Games Studio is led by industry veteran Jeffrey Steefel and includes experienced Wizards game designers and industry talent from several companies. It incorporated the Magic Digital Studio of Worth Wollpert, which previously had created Magic Online and Duels of the Planeswalkers.[2] Both of these creations had met with criticisms. Magic Online as a “full” version of the game is weighed down by a notoriously clunky client and difficult-to-parse user interface—and the Duels of the Planeswalkers series of spin-offs are more user-friendly and nicer to look at but generally considered a little shallow compared to what longtime Magic players are looking for.[3]
Magic Digital Next
In 2017, Steefel introduced Magic Digital Next — or "MDN" — which was Wizards' internal umbrella term for the entire landscape for Magic: The Gathering experiences around digital games.[4][5]
Studio system
Since 2019, the teams of Wizards of the Coast are built around products rather than services.[6] Through the years, several new studios were created to produce Magic video games.
Magic Online has been outsourced to Daybreak Games since December 2021.
At the start of 2023, Wizards of the Coast cancelled at least five video game projects as it scaled back its ambitions in the industry.[7]
References
- ↑ Chris Cocks (January 12, 2017). "Making Moves". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Blake Rasmussen (January 13, 2017). "The January 13, 2017 Update". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Philip Kollar (January 12, 2017), Could we finally get a real Hearthstone competitor from Magic: The Gathering? Gameinformer.com
- ↑ Jeffrey Steefel (February 17, 2017). "Magic Digital Next". magicthegathering.com. Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Zac Clark (February 8, 2018). "Wizards of the Coast President Chris Cocks on MTG Arena and the Future of Digital Magic", Hipstersofthecoast.com
- ↑ Mark Rosewater (December 12, 2019). "You said WOTC now works under the "Studio System". Can you explain what that means?". Blogatog. Tumblr.
- ↑ Jason Schreier (January 3, 2023). "Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast Cancels Video Game Projects". Bloomberg News.