Magic: Legends, Cryptic Studios’ Magic: The Gathering video game adaptation, will go offline on Oct. 31, the studio announced Tuesday. The servers will go offline at 11:59 p.m. PST on that date, just months after Magic: Legends was released into open beta.
Magic: Legends was scheduled for a full release later in 2021 on Windows PC via Steam, as well as on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Cryptic Studios said the game will not be released, and that the studio has “no plans” to revive the game in the future. Magic: Legends executive producer Stephen Ricossa said in the announcement that the “vision for Magic: Legends missed the mark,” but provided no further explanation for the shutdown.
The game failed to grab much attention, despite initial excitement for a multiplayer game set in the Magic: The Gathering world. However, players weren’t impressed by performance issues and grinding problems, on top of a problematic in-game shop.
“Thanks to Wizards of the Coast, we got to bring the expansive Magic: The Gathering Multiverse to a wide audience and explore new angles within the established ARPG genre,” Ricossa said. “We learned several valuable lessons along the way, and we will use them to improve Cryptic’s future development efforts.” Cryptic Studios is still supporting three other MMORPG games in Champions Online, Star Trek Online, and Neverwinter.
The Zen Shop, Magic: Legends’ in-game shop where players can spend real money, will be shut down immediately, and players who invested in Magic: Legends via that shop will have their money fully returned. In an FAQ following the announcement, Cryptic Studios outlined how, exactly, players will receive refunds: It depends on how you purchased stuff. Also, for now, players will still be able to buy items using Magic: Legends’ free in-game money, called Aether.
Magic: Legends had clear problems, but that’s not uncommon for games in early access. Beta periods are often the time period when developers solicit feedback from players and address glaring issues before a game’s full release. Canceling a game in this stage is uncommon. We’ve reached out to publisher Perfect World for more information.
Netflix still has a Magic: The Gathering animated show in the works from Avengers: Endgame directors Joe and Anthony Russo. Magic: Legends was intended to be a tiny preview into that Planeswalker world.
