Wizards of the Coast is a legendary company that has been bringing people together with one thing that unites us all: our love for the games! Be it Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering or Dungeons and Dragons, Wizards of the Coast has revolutionised the world of entertainment!
The Origins
Wizards of the Coast was founded in 1990 by Peter Adkison. Interestingly, the company operated out of his basement in Seattle in Washington. There’s been no looking back for the company, which now operates 18 offices with 600+ employees and 20 million magic players worldwide!
Magic: The Gathering
If there’s one thing Wizards of the Coast is most known for, it has to be the iconic “Magic: The Gathering”. Richard Garfield started working on this unique game concept in 1991. When the game debuted at the Origins Game Fair in 1993, the entire print run sold out in a month, bearing testimony to the popularity of this incredible game that changed the gaming world forever.
The extremely popular game combines trading and playing cards in which players select their cards from a large pool and have great fun competing with the decks!
Wizards of the Coast makes history
By the year 1995, as many as 1 billion cards were sold! In the initial 14 months, 12 expansion sets had already been released and ever since, more than 60 sets have followed! The game’s popularity has truly been explosive!
Joining hands with Dungeons and Dragons’ publisher
Wizards of the Coast acquired TSR, the publisher of the famous Dungeons and Dragons series in 1997 and was itself taken over by Hasbro in 1999. By this time, the two brands, Magic: The Gathering, as well as Dungeons and Dragons, began to be counted amongst the most recognised entertainment brands the world over.
The Way Ahead
Wizards of the Coast has been creating some of the most beloved games and entertainment brands so fondly admired the world over by people of all ages. In 2015, Magic: The Gathering reached an estimated 20 million people around the world!
The Pokémon Trading Card Game too was published first in the US by the company, which reached the zenith of success. The collective card genre has largely been popularised and taken to the masses by Wizards of the Coast.