Magic: The Gathering Arena is coming to Steam this May

gave a tentative target of late 2023.

But it seems development has moved up and MTG Arena will now officially hit the Steam platform this May.

https://twitter.com/MTG_Arena/status/1654599089022009344 In May 2022, Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) Chief Executive Officer Chris Cocks stated:

The Hasbro Board was a great partner for me and the team at Wizards of the Coast. When I joined Wizards in 2016, it was a small but profitable business for Hasbro. It had been on a previous growth run but had been plateauing. The big question at the time was, what would drive the next leg of growth? Ted and Rich with our full Board, including our late CEO Brian, challenged me to think bigger. They were supportive when we needed to significantly turn over our technical leadership and engineering ranks and greatly ramp up our games industry recruiting. As we made progress with what ultimately became Magic: The Gathering Arena, our digital version of MAGIC: THE GATHERING, they saw potential for our IP in more digital expressions and pushed us to "Go Big" in our aspirations. Ultimately, the "Go Big" growth plan expanded beyond digital trading cards to encompass our other great brands, particularly DUNGEONS & DRAGONS.

Later on Hasbro's Investor Day October 2022, CEO Cocks also remarked how the company plans to grow its profit margin by further leveraging the physical and digital entertainment franchises:

We see a big opportunity to unlock value at Hasbro with 50% profit growth over the next three years fueled by special emphasis on direct, digital and immersive entertainment experiences all informed by a category-leading investment in data analytics and customer insight.

With Magic: The Gathering Arena becoming available on the Steam platform, it opens up a new revenue stream from gamers who otherwise would not have played the game. After all, studies over the years suggest that a significant number of players prefer to play games on the Steam platform than anywhere else.

According to WotC, the Steam client version of MTG Arena will retain the cross-save progression from previous versions. However, it should be noted that while the game will be available on the Steam store, it will only be the Windows PC version. No word has been given on whether it will be available for the Steam Deck (or if there are plans to develop a port for that device).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8WyfB5lf7U Steam users can currently add Magic: The Gathering Arena to their wishlist. The full release of MTG Arena on Steam is scheduled on May 23, 2023.

For new and veteran Magic: The Gathering Arena players, there are free codes for bonus packs and exclusive cosmetic skins available. And just logging in to the game will net 3 booster packs from the recent Phyrexian Invasion cycle (Phyrexia: All Will Be One, March of the Machine, and March of the Machine: The Aftermath).