We have been covering Magic: The Gathering Arena ever since its original announcement back in August of 2017, and as folks who still have a hard time believing that there isn’t a quality digital take on Magic: The Gathering on mobile yet while Hearthstone has been filling that void for many years now, Arena’s mobile release really can’t come quickly enough. After spending a couple of years in beta, Magic: The Gathering Arena officially launched on PC in the fall of 2019, with a cross-platform compatible Mac version arriving the following summer. Unfortunately us poor mobile folks have been left out in the cold so far, but as we learned a few weeks back, that is set to change in 2021. As of today Magic: The Gathering Arena is now available on select Android devices in Early Access on the Google Play Store.
The Android version of Magic: The Gathering Arena coincides with the launch of the latest Magic expansion set, called Kaldheim, and just like the desktop versions of the game Kaldheim will be included on Android. In fact, the Android version retains all the elements of its desktop siblings save for friends lists and in-game messaging, in-game code redemption, and sideboarding during drafting. Eventually those features will make their way into the mobile version and Magic: The Gathering Arena will be the exact same game no matter which platform you’re playing on. This Early Access version will only support higher end Android devices that developer Wizards of the Coast considers “recommended spec" devices, and the plan is that a full mobile launch that includes iOS and includes lower-end Android devices will happen later this year.
As the trailer above shows there will be full cross-platform compatibility and progress-syncing between the desktop and mobile versions of Magic: The Gathering Arena. Ahem, are you taking notes League of Legends: Wild Rift? While no further details on the full mobile launch have been divulged, expect more news on their mobile plans when Wizards launches their next expansion Strixhaven in April. For a whole lot more information including a list of currently supported Android devices, check out this in-depth FAQ over on the Magic website, and be sure to give the Early Access version of Magic: The Gathering Arena a try over on the Google Play Store if your Android device can handle it.
UPDATE: The MTG Arena Twitter account has tweeted that they’ve already expanded the list of supported Android devices to now include those with Snapdragon SoCs. Just FYI.
