Wizards of the Coast announced on 31 October 2026 that Chinese-language Magic: The Gathering products will return from 2027, beginning with a Chinese edition of its newest Welcome Deck in early 2027. The plan was revealed at the opening ceremony of the Beijing stop of the Magic Spotlight series, according to the company’s Chinese press release on PR Newswire Asia. The release calls this the first concrete product plan for Chinese since Magic said in 2024 that it would stop Chinese-language products.
Two executives made the announcement: Cathy Magnien-Ledesma, Magic’s senior marketing director, and MK Smith, vice president of global sales. Welcome Decks are small starter decks that stores usually hand out free to new players, and the release says a Chinese version will let newcomers learn the rules in their own language. The deck boxes shown on stage were labelled “Simplified Chinese edition”. Magnien-Ledesma called the deck “just a beginning” and said that “over the past two years, Magic has never left China”. Wizards has not announced a card list, price, exact date, or whether Chinese booster sets will follow.
The halt dates from February 2024, when Wizards said it would end Simplified Chinese tabletop products starting with Bloomburrow, leaving six core print languages. It said at the time that it would keep supporting local play and that English products would remain available in the region.
The press release says 869 players from China and abroad came to the Beijing Capital International Exhibition Center, with Commander tables and a teaching area for beginners. The main event is a Standard tournament run by Beijing organiser Kadou with a $50,000 prize pool, and the top eight earn Pro Tour invitations, Magic’s esports site says. Wizards says the number of Wizards Play Network stores in China has grown by more than 150 in two years, to over 300. A September tournament in Hangzhou set a national record of 404 players, and CommandFest events in Beijing and Shanghai each counted more than 1,000 participations. Magic appeared at the BilibiliWorld expo in July for the third year running and started a university league this year. Magnien-Ledesma said larger events, more expo appearances and rewards for core players are also planned for 2027.
Chinese gaming site Gcores ran the announcement on the day under the headline “Magic’s Chinese return takes its first step”.
