Esports organisation G2 has partnered with game publisher Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the creator of trading card game (TCG) Magic: The Gathering, to launch a long-term creative collaboration featuring rotating games from WotC’s portfolio on G2’s Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) jerseys. The partnership kicks off with story-driven sci-fi action RPG Exodus—developed by WotC studio Archetype Entertainment—as the first featured title.

The Exodus jersey will make its competitive debut at the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 during G2’s opening match against M80 on August 12. Future jersey iterations will feature other titles across Wizards of the Coast’s catalog, which includes major intellectual properties such as Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons.

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By embedding its upcoming and legacy gaming properties directly onto one of competitive gaming’s most visible jerseys, Wizards of the Coast maintains continuous brand presence across core esports audiences as card-based products become an increasingly present in esports.

“Our fans love games, Wizards of the Coast has been creating games people care about for decades, and this collaboration is a natural way to bring those worlds together,” said Alban Dechelotte, CEO of G2 Esports.

Mark Cox, Senior Director of Regional Marketing at WotC, added: “G2 and Counter-Strike were the obvious fit for Wizards of the Coast… We’re excited to bring Exodus into that world and meet players where they already are.”

Esports Leaders Paris is on 21st August at the 5-star Hôtel du Collectionneur bringing together senior decision-makers in and around esports and gaming during the closing EWC weekend. Get your pass here.

The alignment can be seen as a strategic move by the traditional tabletop and card publisher to defend its market share from a rising wave of esports-native card products and trading mechanics.

The Esports World Cup launched its first official trading card collection through a multi-year deal with digital card platform Kolex, while Riot Games‘ Riftbound has a gross revenue estimate surpassing $10 million after a premium trading card collection produced with South Korean team T1. Organisations such as France’s Gentle Mates have also created custom physical card games built around their own club history.

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