Hasbro just released its Q2 2025 earnings reports, and the numbers pertaining to Wizards of the Coast's Magic: The Gathering are best described as eye-watering. Many expected Magic's Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set to be a huge success for the brand, but few could have anticipated the heights that success would reach. Earning more than $200 million in a single day, the Final Fantasy Universes Beyond set is unequivocally the most successful product in Magic: The Gathering's history, blowing the previously record-setting Lord of the Rings set out of the water. But this success has a flipside.
Hot on the heels of the Final Fantasy set's release was the reveal and pre-order period for the next in-universe Magic: The Gathering set, Edge of Eternities, and the success of Final Fantasy (combined with the viral collectibility of many of its showcase cards) has resulted in hyperinflated pricing for the Edge of Eternities cards. Collector Booster displays and Bundles have already been making their way into players' hands early, and already certain cards are shooting up well past their anticipated value targets, pointing to a potential bubble for Magic that may be on the verge of bursting. New players to the hobby who came over thanks to Final Fantasy may be about to learn a harsh truth about Wizards' release strategy and printing process for in-universe, Standard-legal Magic sets.
Final Fantasy Magic: The Gathering Cards Have Already Made a Ridiculous Amount of Money
Hasbro's second quarter earnings call reveals the Final Fantasy set of Magic: The Gathering cards have already made a ridiculous amount of money.
Magic: The Gathering's Final Fantasy Collectors May Be In for a Rude Awakening
One of the benefits of a good Universes Beyond set is that it typically does a lot of the heavy lifting toward bringing new players into Magic: The Gathering. But when it comes to Final Fantasy, it seems like no set before it has been quite as good at bringing in not just players new to TCGs, but converts from other trading card games as well. The secret to pulling players over, at least in the case of Final Fantasy's Universes Beyond set, seems to have been the chase for the rarest cards, but these are isolated examples that aren't fully indicative of how collectible or valuable future sets may be.
The hobby is already seeing the aftermath of the Final Fantasy set with the upcoming launch of Edge of Eternities. New players, especially those coming from other TCGs like Pokemon's (which typically sees more emphasis on collectibility than utility), are grabbing Play Booster and Collector Booster Displays, single cards, Commander Decks, Bundles, and more in hopes of obtaining some of the singles that are currently surging in value. During the pre-release window, where supply hasn't yet caught up to demand, the prices of these products are reaching similar highs as Final Fantasy set. But their maintaining of that value is another story entirely.
The Magic card economy is largely driven by the game's competitive play, not pure rarity. Once cards find their way into players' hands — which, as a reminder, starts on July 25 courtesy of Edge of Eternities' pre-release — players are likely to see values of certain cards rise while others plummet, all dictated by the ever-evolving meta of Magic: The Gathering and how cards perform in the game's most popular formats. A new collector might be super excited about a galaxy foil shock land and be tempted to grade it, but that same card could very well be worth pennies on the dollar of its current value in a week's time.
Wizards of the Coast May Be Chasing the Success of Magic's Final Fantasy Crossover For a While
The runaway success of Final Fantasy's Magic: The Gathering set also sets a bit of a high bar for future Universes Beyond MTG sets to clear, and it's one that Wizards of the Coast will likely struggle to meet with the other two sets in the line arriving this year. Spider-Man and Avatar: The Last Airbender are both beloved IP, but arguably neither set has the kind of cross-cultural and cross-generational appeal that an IP like Final Fantasy does. In terms of both collector speculation and corporate earnings targets, the future of Magic: The Gathering needs to keep its expectations in check after Final Fantasy.
Magic: The Gathering
- Original Release Date
- August 5, 1993
- Publisher
- Wizards of the Coast
- Age Recommendation
- 13+
- Designer
- Richard Garfield
- Player Count
- 2+