Magic: The Gathering Creator Explores Why Artifact Failed

One of the things that Artifact had going for it – other than the support of one of the biggest gaming companies in the world and being based off an IP that’s known and loved internationally – was the genius mind of Richard Garfield, the man responsible for the most popular TCG of all time, Magic: The Gathering. And when you think about it, it had so much going for it, there’s no reason it should have done as badly as it did.

That said, the man himself recently interviewed Win.gg, explaining why he figured the game did poorly: and unsurprisingly, he didn’t blame it on the money.

To me there are two important parts of pay-to-win.

The first is whether buying something will make you a champion. This is not true for Hearthstone, Magic, or for that matter, golf. It also isn’t true for Artifact. I am an OK player and a mediocre deck constructor in Artifact, and access to all of the cards won't change that. I might be able to overcome the mediocre deck construction by copying someone else's deck, but it won’t make me an excellent player. Likewise, I can spend thousands on golf clubs, but it won't make me a golf champion.

Note that some games where you buy components don't pass this test - you can effectively buy infinite army units, skill levels, or hit points in some games, making it possible for you to overcome any problem by spending enough money.

The second part of pay-to-win is what the bottom line expenditure is. Top level decks in Magic or Hearthstone generally cost more than top level decks in Artifact. And since there is a market, you can shift around your collection with relative ease.

But after explaining why he didn’t think the game was “pay to win”, he did go on to say that it didn’t really matter because the world SAW it as “pay to win”, which created a stigma that the game couldn’t shake. They also said there weren’t enough short-term goals for players to latch on to while advancing towards long-term goals.

Anyway. Whatever Artifact is doing now – assuming it’s anything at all – Richard Garfield has nothing to do with it, as he’s since moved on to other projects and has lost touch with the team currently assigned to the game. If it can survive without him isn’t so much a question as “if it can survive at all”, and I guess only time will tell on that front