Pixelborn, an unofficial online simulator for Disney Lorcana, has just announced its support ending for Disney Lorcana before June 16, 2024. Since its inception, it has grown to become one of the largest online digital card game communities, recently surpassing the Hearthstone's official Discord numbers.
The creator, Pavel, made the full announcement on their Discord that representatives from Disney has contacted them to cease and desist Pixelborn's Disney Lorcana support effective in June. However, the client is not just for playing Disney Lorcana but other card games as well, although this event may prove any further investment into projects with big intellectual properties risky.
This is a big blow to the Lorcana community, although many will have seen it coming. It will be interesting to see how it affects Disney Lorcana's ecosystem and their bottom line. As it is, the client is completely free to play (although some perks were locked behind a Patreon) with all cards being accessible. It may affect how a player spends on their physical cards, and even the content creator ecosystem is heavily revolved around Pixelborn gameplay. As an alternative, there are other tabletop simulators that support Disney Lorcana such as Ink Table or Lorcanito.
In addition, our weekly meta reports were also based off the stats that were shared by Pixelborn, which means going forward we will have to rely solely on tournament data. There are other instances of other card games turning a blind eye to digital simulators, such as One Piece Card Game, where one could argue it provides free advertising to the game. Could this mean an official digital client is on the cards soon?
Pavel has been donating the proceeds of the Patreon funds to charity and maintaining the client. Check out their full announcement below.
Hey @everyone,
Earlier this month, Disney representatives contacted me.
I was advised that "Disney has intellectual property rights in the Disney Lorcana cards and that Disney has requested Pixleborn to respect these rights by not copying the cards or in any way suggesting an affiliation with Disney".I've always stated I would respect such a request, and I plan to keep my word and will not grasp at technicalities. Pixelborn will stop the support for Lorcana before 16th June 2024.
The Pixelborn Discord server will remain a safe and welcoming place to discuss everything Lorcana.
My heart is shattered to pieces.
I've put everything in this project for the past year and a half. Every night, weekend, and holiday. I know it meant a lot for many people as the only way to experience the game we all love. I genuinely believe Ravensburger is the best company that could have developed and now supports the game. The past weekend proves that Lorcana has a bright future.Thank you all for sharing this journey with me. You might not realize it, but every single one of you matters. With all the charity donations we've made, we really brought meaningful change to the world. If you ever feel down, always remember that. I will always cherish you.
Be happy.
Forever yours,
Pavelp.s. Thank you, <@68101650740420608> , Antonjo, <@486048373992849411> , <@204688380544548872> , <@918504119696773160> , <@304048154884571136> , <@353023950051344395> , <@552566727205191712> , for your help running the server. Pixelborn would not have been here without you, and I am forever grateful.
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Patrons, feel free to cancel your subscriptions. If you would like to receive a refund for your last month, please contact me via Patreon.
Once I've recouped all server costs, I will create a poll to choose charities for the remaining funds.=============================
Meanwhile, I've worked on 2 additional engines:
Engine Newton (supporting SWU) is 90% done - I've even commissioned the gameboard, skins, additional art & visuals - all done. But with the current situation I am not sure I will make it public.
Engine Sorcery will have the demo decks ready soon and might be released.
