There were a lot of advantages to starting fresh with MTG Arena. In an FAQ, Wizards explained why it was creating an all-new iteration of the trading card game. Wizards of the Coast has released digital versions of Magic: The Gathering over the past two decades, including Magic Online and Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers. That beta test will initially focus on the casual Constructed play, featuring cards from the game’s Ixalan release. Magic: The Gathering Arena is being developed first for Windows PC, but the developer said the game is built on Unity and will “expand to other platforms when it's ready.” Wizards of the Coast is currently accepting applications for a closed beta test expected to launch later this year. 'We want to create the deepest, richest digital card game on the market, and for it to be as much fun to watch as it is to play,' said Jeffrey Steefel, vice president of digital game development at Wizards of the Coast, in a release.

Magic: The Gathering Arena is the first title developed by Wizards of the Coast’s in-house Digital Games Studio and promises the original card game’s full rules with ongoing support for new cards. Wizards of the Coast revealed a new free-to-play digital card game based on Magic: The Gathering today, saying the title would focus on “fast-paced, exciting, and easy-to-follow” gameplay.

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