'Magic the Gathering' RPG News: Title to Get the AAA Treatment
The "Magic the Gathering" role-playing game (RPG) is the latest to join the family of games based on the popular trading card title. However, unlike previous titles, it will deviate from its roots and enter the realm of AAA RPGs.
The upcoming title will be built from scratch by Cryptic Studios in partnership with Perfect World Entertainment. The two previously worked on the massively multiplayer online (MMO) RPG "Neverwinter" with the former being the developer and the latter as the publisher.
Perfect World CEO Bryan Huang said that it has always been their dream to turn the trading card game into a modern RPG. Everything — from the gameplay to the graphics — is aimed at making the title worthy of being an AAA game.
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First released in 1993, "Magic the Gathering" was the first trading card game ever produced and even after two decades continues to survive and thrive. As of 2015, there are approximately 20 million players of the original trading card game alone.
The game also began to enter the digital realm with several video games being released based on "Magic's" core gameplay. The most popular of these games was "Magic the Gathering — Duels of the Planeswalkers," which has released several reiterations from 2009 all the way through 2015.
The latest game to be released based on the trading card franchise is "Magic Duels," currently available for Xbox One, iOS and PC. It recently saw the launch of its Amonkhet expansion which added 158 new cards to its roster.
The AAA RPG genre is essentially new to the franchise but it isn't a stranger to the medieval fantasy theme. The upcoming game essentially has everything going for it: a dedicated fanbase, a well of fantasy characters to draw upon, and most importantly, the name and reputation of "Magic the Gathering."
