Upper Deck and WoW TCG parting ways [Updated]

We've discussed the reported death of the WoW TCG before, but its publisher Upper Deck reported that everything was good in the hood, so to speak, where the TCG was concerned. Today, however, Magic: The Gathering news site Mananation reported that Upper Deck and the WoW TCG are parting ways, citing confirmation from two sources.
Mananation reports that the split was "amicable," but it seems very strange given that there are still several TCG products slated to be released in 2010, including class starter decks and the Wrathgate/Northrend sets. What this means for the future of the game is uncertain -- Blizzard might re-license the game to a different publisher or develop it internally, or pursue other means to keep the game (which was apparently doing well financially) alive. This also apparently affects the WoW Minis game, which might not have been doing as well.
Upper Deck has had some legal issues lately, which may be the root cause of this split, but we won't know for sure until we get a comment from either company. We've confirmed the split independently through Potomac Distribution, and we contacted Blizzard and Upper Deck Entertainment around 6pm EST requesting their comment, and have yet to hear back from them. We'll update the post if we get a response.
Update 7:56 p.m. EDT: Upper Deck replied to us letting us know that we'll hear from them on Monday concerning this matter.
Update 8:10 p.m. EDT: A Upper Deck representative on their forums posted the following about an event happening in Houston: "We're going to make Houston all kinds of awesome, and I'm confident this will be a great start to a new chapter for the World of Warcraft TCG."
Update 9:15 p.m. EDT: Zarhym hit the forums to confirm that the TCG is no longer in the hands of Upper Deck, but is not being discontinued entirely.
Filed under: News items, WoW TCG






Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Moonkinmaniac Feb 12th 2010 7:42PM
Noooo, aww I hope they keep it going some other way. Guess I should redeem some extra loot cards now just in case.
zangor Feb 12th 2010 7:44PM
i doubt they will stop making them since they make alot of money from em
Broadwayblues Feb 12th 2010 7:56PM
Rawrcast broke this back in November. http://www.rawrcast.com/2009/11/wow-tcg-is-going-away/
Sayomara Feb 12th 2010 7:56PM
looks like rawrcast was right back in Dec
Ringo Flinthammer Feb 12th 2010 7:58PM
I guess those loot cards will be going up, up, up in value.
zangor Feb 12th 2010 8:03PM
im pretty sure blizz will find a way to give out these items if in fact the TCG falls
Bill Feb 12th 2010 8:24PM
expect Blizz to bring the TCG inhouse and continue to create the sets. A lot of the people who worked on the TCG for UD are already at Blizz.
Cyanea Feb 12th 2010 8:30PM
I hope they continue the TCG. I love that game.
Res Feb 12th 2010 8:45PM
Why is everyone acting like Upper Deck is the only company capable of printing and publishing WoW TCG?. If whatever the Houston thing is falls through, they will just team up with someone else. There's no reason for Blizz to want to stop the popular game and extremely popular loot cards.
Lenny Feb 12th 2010 8:50PM
I'm a touch concerned about the Darkmoon Faire schedule with this news because I was planning on hitting three of them this year. If Huston could be the last one, or last good one, I'm going to need to get a plane ticket fast!
Carrie Feb 12th 2010 9:03PM
What? That can't be right. Nothing ever happens in Houston.
Pinnick Feb 13th 2010 4:30AM
So... you going to admit and fess up about Rawrcast calling this months ago? Heh... they don't even need to say "I told you so" even though it's totally warranted.
Michael Feb 15th 2010 12:17AM
^ This.
You guys really should put in a link to the people who broke the original story months ago, instead of just pimping out your own rumour article from months.
That's shoddy, Disgraceful and frankly unprofessional journalism... but hey, it wouldn't exactly be the first time WoW.com has taken undue credit for something - Cataclysm races, anyone?
Have some decency and put the damn link to Rawrcast in.
Ulurjah Feb 12th 2010 9:11PM
Blizzard has confirmed that the license with UDE is NOT going to be renewed.
Blue post by Blizzard (official):
As some of you may already be aware, we will not be renewing the World of Warcraft: The Trading Card Game license with Upper Deck. We want to assure you that we are committed to supporting the TCG, and players can look forward to new content and strong organized play support in the near future. We will share additional details about the game’s transition to a new partner as soon as possible. For those awaiting tournament prizes, we will ensure you receive them.
Source: http://blue.mmo-champion.com/1/23214151183-the-future-of-world-of-warcraft-tcg.html
Original thread: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=23214151183&sid=1
Donhorn Feb 12th 2010 9:14PM
I don't have much experience with the TCG aside from the Leroy Jenkins card I'm lucky enough to own so I don't really have much to say on this matter. But I get the feeling Blizz would just keep this going internally. And actually that may be a better move for them, the card game is already established, just keep working with the current setup and cut out the middle man sharing the profits.
Donhorn Feb 12th 2010 9:19PM
And then the Blizz post cuts me contradicting my prediction. At least that confirms they are planing to keep it going.
Neflight Feb 12th 2010 9:57PM
I really hope Wizards takes control!! With the success of Magic and D&D, they can make the TCG very viable (unlike UD).
Lenny Feb 12th 2010 10:26PM
I've disliked WotC since they bought TSR. If they take over the card game I will stop playing that day.
tpilepich Feb 13th 2010 1:58AM
I hope they move to wizards of the coast.
Upper Deck is a joke, and WotC already has all the systems in place for world class tournaments.
jlpknights82 Feb 13th 2010 6:39AM
Whatever they do, all I hope for is a way to play it online. It's not easy finding actual people to play with most of the time, especially when you are just starting to learn the game. :P