Wizards of the Coast's new Digital Games Studio is creating a Magic experience with the full rules and ongoing content support for new card sets, just like the original card game. The game is designed and built for digital gamers without compromising Magic's core gameplay. Every element of the game design is focused on an engaging and dynamic experience, true to authentic Magic, to provide players and viewers fast-paced, exciting, and easy-to-follow matches.

Originally Wizards' Digital Games Studio had scheduled the Closed Beta launch for Nov. 30, 2017, but that has been pushed a few days and will now commence Dec. 4, 2017.

This has been an exciting month for Magic: The Gathering Arena. All of you have taught us a lot, helped us hone the game, and, most importantly, set us up to kick off the Closed Beta on December 4!

In Alpha, we've held a number of playtests, all of which have been very successful from our end. We've learned a lot, received feedback from thousands of players, tested key parts of the game, and heard players asking for more.

So more is what you're going to get! We got the feedback we needed from our November playtests (thank you!), so we're going to spend the next few weeks prepping for the launch of the Closed Beta.

Haven't yet signed up for the MTG Arena Closed Beta? You still can! Don't miss out on the next evolution of Magic as the Closed Beta kicks off December 4.

Starting December 4, we will begin inviting the first wave of Magic players to our Closed Beta, including bringing back everyone who has played so far in the Alpha. Whereas the Alpha was focused on a few weekends, the Closed Beta will be up and running every day (barring maintenance, downtime, or pirates storming our servers—it's more common than you think), giving you even more opportunities to try it out.

The initial invite waves will start small. We expect only players with priority access will receive invites through December. If all goes well—and so far, everything has gone well (knock on wood and/or our code)—we hope to expand those invites at some point in January to those without priority access.

The Closed Beta will launch with Constructed matches and only Ixalan cards. We expect to have more to say about additional features in January, so keep an eye out for that announcement.

Note that anyone invited to participate in the Closed Beta will be asked to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). If you have questions about exactly what it means to be under an NDA, visit our FAQ for more information.

We still have a few rough edges to smooth out before we lift the NDA. Your feedback will be essential to getting the game ready for a larger audience when we eventually lift the NDA.

If you do get into the Closed Beta and you find yourself having any issues, here are some useful resources you can turn to:

• Use support.wizards.com to submit bug reports or if you are having issues getting into the game.
• Once in the game, use the Beta Forums to post all feedback and ask our developers questions.
• You may tweet @MTG_Arena (just remember you are under NDA and Twitter is a public channel, so don't share any confidential information). For example, you can tweet about trouble logging in, but not to discuss gameplay.
• Invitation, download, and important service update emails will come from wizardscusthelp@wizards.com.

Before I sign off, I want to give a special thank you to everyone who joined in the Alpha playtests. Your feedback is helping us to create a game we're excited to get in front of more fans, and we wouldn't be moving on to the Closed Beta without your assistance. We hope you've had a bit of fun along the way, and we're really looking forward to the next step in making Magic: The Gathering Arena a game our fans love and deserve.

See you in the forums!