Publisher Perfect World Entertainment leveraged the highly anticipated 2019 Game Awards to announce Magic: Legends, a new upcoming MMO Action RPG set in the iconic universe of Magic: The Gathering and developed by Cryptic Studios. For the first time, players will be able to take direct control of powerful planeswalkers in completely different genre of game.
Speaking about the game, CEP of Perfect World Entertainment Roon Im says, “It’s an incredible time to be a Magic: The Gathering fan…With its rich, immersive worlds and satisfying spellcasting system, Magic creates the perfect setting for an MMO action RPG spun into an epic fantasy adventure that players will want to continue exploring for years to come.”
The announcement comes as a surprise in terms of the genre of game as an MMO action RPG, but at the same time makes sense from the perspective of the long-term expansion that Wizards of the Coast has had in the past few years. The multiverse where the game developes its ongoing will be the same as in Magic: The Gathering, Arena, novels, and the upcoming animated series through Netflix.
Cryptic Studios has been working quietly on the project since 2017 and is an extension of an ongoing licensing partnership between the developer and Wizards of the Coast following the success of Neverwinter, the popular MMO based on Dungeons & Dragons.
Although the announcement is fascinating, especially for decades-long fans of Magic: The Gathering, little has been revealed about the actual gameplay and what it might entail. To make an MMO action RPG with planeswalkers, one must assume the full gambit of the five magic colors will need to be incorporated, otherwise it would not feel like a Magic: The Gathering game.
At the same time, MMO action RPGs typically focus on loot as a way to encourage long-term progression and maintaining player interest. For now, we can only guess, but no one should be surprised to see loot and gear progression as a main facet of Magic: Legends. Now, if only they could incorporate the game into acquiring cards in Magic: The Gathering Arena, many players would be hooked from day one!
More details will be revealed in only a few short weeks in January 2020. Players who are interested in being the very first to experience this epic MMO action RPG can sign up for the game’s first beta test on PlayMagicLegends.com.
Source: Forty Seven