Hasbro unveils plans to bring Magic: The Gathering's popular Commander format online, though it doesn't seem like it'll be done through MTG Arena.
According to a Bloomberg article, the company is "testing a video game version of Commander, which would potentially be separate from Arena and allow for more than two players to compete" and that the company "is also looking to make the digital versions of its cards more collectible, like the popular game Marvel Snap."
In other words, creating a third digital platform for Commander players (beyond MTG Arena and Magic: The Gathering Online) complete with its own ecosystem means that Magic players will likely need to own and maintain three separate digital collections if they want to be able to play all three versions of digital Magic.
"This is huge," writes Reddit user Jake Henderson. "Not only is Commander currently incredibly difficult to play digitally, but it would also be the third unique MTG video game, meaning players would need to possibly build and collect a third digital collection."
It's something that could make Hasbro even more money with its Magic: The Gathering cash cow and it's something that Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks seems quite interested in tapping into.
“What makes Magic so successful is what will drive Hasbro’s future success,” Cocks said in the Bloomberg article.
As for when this possible Commander version of digital Magic might take off, it's anyone's guess as Hasbro has not released any further details at this time.
