Wizards Of The Coast Working On ‘Warhammer 40,000’ And ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Crossovers For ‘Magic The Gathering’
Magic the Gathering is set to announce new crossovers with other popular fantasy features, including Lord of the Rings and Warhammer 40,000.
Hasbro will announce crossover later today at an investor event, along with a reorganization that will spin the Wizards of the Coast into its own division. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report that Warhammer 40,000 and Lord of the Rings will both come to Magic the Gathering, med Lord of the Rings gets full expansion. ComicBook.com was able to independently verify the reports. It is currently unclear whether Warhammer 40,000 will also get full expansion, or if this will be a Secret Lair drop as a crossover with The wanderers died.
Wizards of the Coast had a massive 2020, earning over $ 800 million in revenue thanks to Magic the Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons. The Hasbro division is on track to double its revenues between 2018 and 2023 thanks to an increase in the two core properties. While Magic the Gathering has gained new popularity due to the growth of the digital Magic: The Gathering Arena game, Dungeons & Dragons has added millions of new fans thanks to an accessible set of rules and increased exposure in pop culture. In particular, the two brands have also had several crossovers in recent years, with two D&D campaign setbooks published based on Magic the Gathering settings and an upcoming Magic the Gathering in short, based on the D&D Forgotten Realms setting coming later this summer.
It is also stated that two further crossovers involving Magic are planned, following last year’s The Walking Dead Secret Lair and Godzilla Ikoria: Lair of Behemoth cards and this year’s upcoming Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms. One is a full set based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, while another is an undetailed crossover with Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40,000.
It is also said that more video game projects are in the works alongside Cryptic Studios’ upcoming Magic: Legends. One is by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive developer Hidden Path Entertainment, while another is from OtherSide Entertainment, developer of Underworld Ascendant and the upcoming System Shock 3.
Under Hasbro’s reorganization, the new Wizards & Digital department will house the assets of Wizards of the Coast with an emphasis on expanding existing games, creating new ones and monitoring digital licensing. The other divisions will be a division for consumer projects that includes toys, while entertainment handles the licensing, distribution and production of film and TV content.
