Welcome to this week’s Hipsters Weekly MTG Newsletter. Every Monday, we tell you know what you need to know about the week’s most important Magic news. Subscribe here!
Hasbro Loses $112.5 Million to Start 2018
Hasbro’s earning report for the first quarter (January, February, and March) of 2018 revealed that Wizards of the Coast’s parent company had an extremely rough beginning to the year, losing $112.5 million.
Hasbro attributes most of the losses to the liquidation of Toys’R’Us, which was announced last month. The company’s gaming category, which is comprised of many gaming brands like Monopoly and Magic, saw a 20% reduction in revenue year over year, from $253 million in the first quarter of 2017 to $203 million in 2018.
Unfortunately, the report didn’t reveal any of Magic’s specific earnings numbers, instead only including it in Hasbro’s larger categories, such as “Gaming” or “Franchise Brands.” The only indication the report gave to Magic’s financial performance was in comparison to Monopoly, which still managed to grow in the first quarter of 2018 while Hasbro’s other franchise brands, including Magic, saw reduced revenues.
Massive MTG Arena Updates Will be Announced on Wednesday
This Wednesday, Wizards will be hosting a Twitch stream event to reveal the upcoming changes to the MTG Arena economy, the introduction of drafting, as well as the release Dominaria in the game. The event will take place from 4pm to 8pm Eastern on Wednesday, April 25th, and will feature a bunch of popular streamers playing the with the new cards in MTG Arena for the first time.
While the economy changes will be announced on Wednesday, we already know that drafting will come to MTG Arena on Friday, May 4th. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to draft against seven other live players to start. Instead, you will be drafting against seven AI opponents.
Stay tuned to Hipsters on Wednesday for full coverage of Wednesday’s MTG Arena announcements, including details about the economy changes and the cost of drafting.
Dominaria Opens its Pre-Release Weekend to Rave Reviews
The Magic community finally got its hands on Dominaria this weekend, and the early reviews of Magic’s newest set are extremely positive.
Unfortunately, not every part of Dominaria’s release went smoothly. The set’s introduction to Magic Online, as well as the addition of the new Brawl format, created a bunch of unintended bugs and unannounced visual changes.
Did you get to play in a Dominaria pre-release this weekend? Let us know about your experience on Twitter at @HipstersMTG.