Hasbro takes big swings with his Magic: The Gathering Brand. Chris Cocks, president of Wizards of the Coast, on Thursday announced the launch of Universes Beyond, a new series of maps that crossover with other franchises. They will feature the Warhammer 40,000 franchise and characters from JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
MagicThe first Universes Beyond crossover was announced in September. It will feature Wizards’ own Dungeons & Dragons franchise in a set called cards Adventures in the Forgotten RealmsIt is by no means the first crossover with D&D as the tabletop role-playing game has published sourcebooks based on Magic lore for years.
The collaboration with Games Workshop is rather a surprise. The UK-based company has seen an incredible resurgence in recent years, with a shortage of plastic kits around the world. It has also encountered a huge bottleneck in its card-based products. There’s no word on whether Wizards will lend their expertise to fix that shortage, which has led to scalpers charging exorbitant prices for sets of cards online.
Middle-earth Enterprises, formerly Tolkien Enterprises, gives Wizards access to select Tolkien works. That includes The Hobbit and the characters of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Polygon has reached out to Wizards of the Coast, Games Workshop, and Middle-earth Enterprises for more information.
The announcement was made on Thursday during an investor call from Hasbro.