Why Magic: The Gathering picked Tencent as its partner in China

When Western game developers look at China, they see a market that could hit nearly $38 billion this year (as market research firm Newzoo estimates). But they also see millions and millions of people who are eager for new games, looking for experiences they may never have encountered before.

Wizards of the Coast knew this a decade ago when it first brought Magic: The Gathering to Chinese players. Sure, they’d been playing with imported and black-market cards before this, but official, localized cards showed their players that Magic wasn’t just for people in the West. It was for China, too.