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Magic Duels: Origins brings Magic to iPhone for the first time, but no plans for Android

Wizards of the Coast casts Shrink

Magic Duels: Origins brings Magic to iPhone for the first time, but no plans for Android
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As you'll hear at the end of the preview video above, Magic Duels: Origins will be coming to iPad, Steam, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and will also make its series debut on iPhone.

I confirmed this information with Dan Barrett of Wizards of the Coast, who noted that the iPhone version won't launch day and date with the other editions, but that "we're working on it right now, and having seen the beta build myself, it's looking great".

Details are thin on how it will present the often complex table layouts that typical games of Magic: The Gathering can form, but as Magic Duels will replace the yearly cycle of releases (like 2013, 2014, and 2015), I imagine developer Stainless Games will want to get it right straight out the gate.

However, Android owners will need to get their Magic fix somewhere else for the foreseeable future, as the platform will not receive a version to call its own.

When asked to comment, Dan noted that "we're looking to offer our fans the best quality of gaming experiences, and one of the ways we achieve that for Magic Duels is to focus on a core group of platforms".

The pay off is that iOS, PC, and console owners will have a richer experience, as Dan points out "one of the great things about moving to a persistent client for Magic Duels is that we can expand upon it with future updates - be it adding new cards, features, or additional platforms".

Magic Duels: Origins comes to iPhone, iPad, Steam, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One this July, and will be a free to play game.

Peter Willington
Peter Willington
Die hard Suda 51 fan and professed Cherry Coke addict, freelancer Peter Willington was initially set for a career in showbiz, training for half a decade to walk the boards. Realising that there's no money in acting, he decided instead to make his fortune in writing about video games. Peter never learns from his mistakes.