MTG: Mark Rosewater talks Universes Beyond design & future

Mark Rosewater has discussed the future of MTG’s Universes Beyond products with us, we’ll let you know what the future holds for Magic’s most exciting crossovers

We recently had the chance to talk with Mark Rosewater, Magic: The Gathering’s lead designer. We wanted to know his thoughts on Universes Beyond’s explosion of popularity, what sets we might see in the future, and more.

Mark Rosewater on Universes Beyond’s future

Universes Beyond is Magic’s crossover product. It kicked off originally with a limited drop of Walking Dead cards and has expanded to cover not only Lord of the Rings but Warhammer and Doctor Who.

However, this has gone from a fairly decent chunk of time between releases. Rosewater says that the company is still discovering how to handle the increase in crossovers:

“We’re figuring it out, but we’re iterating and trying to understand that. I mean, as we do things and as we learn things that will shape what we do, we’re still finding our feet because it’s early.

“I don’t want to dictate what the future will bring. It’s not like we’ve been doing it for 10 years and know exactly what we’re doing. We sort of figuring it out, but Universes Beyond will be a part of our future. We’ve had huge success with it.”

This has never been more true, as, in a recent report, Hasbro had sold through $100 million worth of stock. However, Rosewater is focused on the fun aspect of it:

“What we’ve learned is there’s something magical about taking the game of Magic, which is awesome, and other things which are awesome, and putting them together and, you know, the fans like it when you pair the right things together.”

Doctor Who, Fallout, and Magic

However, with recent announcements of themed cards that don’t necessarily exist in a high fantasy setting, there’s some worry that Magic could lose its spark. We asked the head developer why Wizards were partnering with things like Doctor Who:

“We’re trying to find sweet spots where Magic actually has some affinity there and there’s a lot of them in Doctor Who and Lord of the Rings.

“The second thing is, Magic is an awesome game. I would argue the best game ever. We’re trying to find new ways to sort of speak to people, and I think trying IPs that people love.”

Wizards find that Universes Beyond brings in more players

Rosewater goes on to explain that the partnerships with the Universes Beyond sets and cards aren’t necessarily out of thematically fitting with the wider world of MTG. Instead, Wizards have found that more people are picking up the game after seeing something recognizable:

“I’ve talked to numerous people who are like ‘Look, I knew Magic existed and I, I guess it’s maybe not for me.’ And then the Lord of the Rings set came out.

“I love Lord of the Rings like ‘Fine, fine, I’ll try Magic.’ And so I think Universes Beyond is another starting point for people to find that Magic is an awesome game.

“Hey, if it takes an IP you love to help you sample it and realize how good a game it is.”

Wizards plans to continue Universes Beyond for the foreseeable future

It’s reassuring to know that careful thought goes into whether properties adapted for Universes Beyond will be a good fit with Magic: The Gathering.

Though it seems as though the frequency of Universes Beyond is ramping up – With LOTR and Doctor Who this year, and Fallout and Assasins Creed arriving in 2024 – they are still recent additions to Magic’s lengthy history. Once thought of as having a niche appeal, it’s clear that Universes Beyond will be a big part of MTG moving forward.