It seems that the long wait is finally coming to an end. Three years after WildStar was the last new AAA MMORPG released in the West, a new one is in development: Magic – The Gathering. This will be an MMORPG, but the publisher is marketing it as an RPG, while fans see it as a card game.
It almost went under the radar yesterday, but indeed: There is a new western AAA MMORPG in development. This used to happen regularly, but after The Elder Scrolls Online and WildStar had a rocky start in 2014, they were almost considered extinct: We reported on the death of the western AAA MMORPG.
The “great MMORPG hopes” Titan and Everquest Next have been canceled in recent years. Since then, the major studios have retreated, leaving the MMORPG field to Asians and indie studios.
Only Amazon was still working on “New World” – but whether that is really an MMORPG remains uncertain.
Action MMORPG is coming, but few noticed
But indeed: Cryptic Studios, the creators behind Star Trek Online and Neverwinter, are daring to develop a AAA action MMORPG based on the Magic: The Gathering license.
However: It has not been presented as an MMORPG but rather as a modern, complete RPG.
Most fans have also ignored that and are just happy that a new card game is coming.
It seems as if the publisher is a bit ashamed of developing an MMORPG.
But: The new Magic will not be a card game. The new game is supposed to “only” take place in the world of Magic. At its core, it is a AAA free-to-play action MMORPG. They place importance on “AAA”: The high production values affect graphics and gameplay.
New AAA MMORPG for PC and probably PS4 and Xbox One
The free-to-play MMORPG is set to be released for PC and “consoles” – usually referring to PS4 and Xbox One.
The information that it is indeed an MMORPG and not an RPG comes from a freshly launched website for “Magic: The Gathering” by Cryptic Studios. There are no screenshots or even a trailer yet.
Looks like we will soon have a 6th recipe “Waiting for new AAA MMORPGs from the West:”
