Last updated on December 26, 2024
Lightning Bolt | Illustration by Mike Burns
Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks revealed that the company is currently testing a video game client for Commander in an interview with Bloomberg on November 20, 2024. This announcement aligns with Hasbro’s stated refocus on “digital play” that was mentioned in an earnings call back in October.
While the idea of a Commander video game is exciting, one aspect of the announcement is potentially concerning to Magic players. According to the article:
“Currently, Hasbro is testing a video game version of Commander, which would potentially be separate from Arena and allow for more than two players to compete.”
If this Commander game does end up being a separate client from MTG Arena, this likely means Arena will not be getting a multiplayer function. It also means that players are going to need to rebuild a second, or possibly third, digital collection of cards.
According to the Bloomberg interview, the idea for this new Commander game came about because “Magic Arena, while popular, doesn’t harness Magic’s two biggest growth areas: collectability and its Commander format, which involves more players and more cards.”
When Hasbro’s CEO talks about harnessing the power of Commander, it’s pretty clear he means creating more profits from the format. While this is good for the company, it does mean that Magic is about to add another potential expense for players who want to play Commander online.
Is A Commander Video Game a Good Idea?
Brainstorm | Illustration by Willian Murai
Commander is at its peak popularity, but at the same time, it's in a very tender state. It's been completely taken under WotC's wing, we're getting some system changes in the form of power brackets and a revised banlist, and maybe now more than ever, Magic is getting more expensive to play.
If you want to play multiple formats digitally, you almost certainly need to play both MTG Arena and MTG Online. Both of which require separate collections, and neither are cheap. The issue of having two separate games is beginning to be rectified, though. Pioneer Masters comes out in just a few weeks, and that only really leaves Modern and Legacy out. Plus, if Pioneer's transition to Arena is a success, its possible we'll see the same for those formats.
But Commander is a separate story. It's really annoying to play Commander online, whether that's on MTGO, Cockatrice, or even SpellTable (which doesn't help those without physical collections). If launched, a Commander video game would have a few immediate problems:
- Not enough cards: It's unlikely they'll have even 80% or more of the most played Commander cards, which totals in the thousands.
- Barrier to entry: Those cards are going to cost money, and even if you get the chance to buy, sell, or trade singles, why wouldn't they invest those resources into MTG Online? If not, what will take its place? The wildcard system, or something potentially worse?
A video game dedicated to Commander could work, but when players have already dedicated significant time and dollar investments into Magic Arena, which beats out MTG Online when it comes to accessibility and ease-of-use, why would you make an entirely new client?
What Even Are Digital Collectibles?
Something that shouldn't get swept under the rug is that CEO Cocks also mentioned “digital collectibles.” What he is likely referencing are the sort of collectibles on games like Marvel Snap. It could also, however, mean something along the lines of MTG NFTs, where you get to ‘own' a digital Magic card.
One of the major downsides there is that, if they were to follow the Marvel Snap route, there wouldn't be any trading of these ‘collectibles.' That means that you can collect them by buying into loot-box-esque products, which wouldn't even be that much different than a booster pack, but you wouldn't get to cash in on the ultimate pulls.
Commander’s Popularity Could Hurt Magic Arena
Aside from having to build a completely separate digital collection, a standalone Commander video game could also create problems for MTG Arena. As stated in the interview with Chris Cocks, Commander is one of Magic’s most popular formats. While adding Commander to Arena would likely introduce new players to the platform, creating a separate game for it could risk cannibalizing the player base.
I know that I’m not going to continue investing time and money into both Arena and a separate Commander game, and I’m not alone. Plenty of players on Reddit have already shared similar sentiments. This could mean bad news for Arena if this new Commander game proves to be far more profitable, and Hasbro shifts its focus more heavily towards the new platform.
Alternatively, this new Commander game could suffer as players decide they don’t want to invest in yet another digital MTG collection. If that happens, it seems unlikely Hasbro will then go back to trying to get Commander on Arena after already having spent so many resources on a separate game.
For players looking to play commander online, there are other options. While free clients like Cockatrice or XMage might not be as polished or automated as Arena, they won’t require you to spend any money on cards.
SpellTable is another good option, as it allows you to play with your physical cards. Chris Cocks may talk about making digital Magic cards “more collectible,” but its hard to believe digital assets will ever hold the same collectible value as physical cards. This is especially true if the company keeps deciding to make new online clients with their own separate collections.
Wrap Up
Sol Ring | Illustration by Kekai Kotaki
Wizards creating a Commander-centric video game would also be a big change for a format that has already seen plenty of controversy this year.
Details are still pretty slim at the moment on what this new Commander game might look like, and how it will be monetized. That said, unless it comes stocked with a lot of free cards, it will likely force a lot of players to choose between it and other existing ways to play Magic online.
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