In February, Hasbro announced on their quarterly investors call that there are now over 10,000 stores affiliated with the Wizards Play Network. These stores are independent retail locations with a physical location, reliable internet, and a dedicated play space for at least eight players. WPN Premium was a designation that was created to give special recognition to those stores that went above and beyond for their local Magic: The Gathering community. In an announcement posted to the WPN news page, Wizards announced changes coming to the program.
With over 10,000 stores and a growing number of WPN Premium stores, Wizards made the decision to do away with WPN Premium in favor of a tier-based system that scales recognition based on specific milestones for a store. Premium applications are now closed, but those stores waiting on a decision should expect to hear something by early April.
WPN Premium stores that qualified for a Store Name Promo will receive a final distribution in mid-2027 but will need to qualify for Tier 6 after that. Likewise, WPN Premium badges that allowed for players to quickly locate Premium stores will become Legendary badges by the end of the year but stores will need to qualify for Tier 6 to continue use after Q1 2027. This table explains in more detail all the benefit changes and their timing:
All WPN stores will be automatically enrolled in the new tier-based system. Instead of applying to a program, each store will have their metrics reviewed every quarter to determine tier qualification. Event participation, player engagement for both new and returning players, and a player’s overall experience are important metrics, but stores will be rewarded for consistency over spikes. This ensures that random spikes or dips in numbers do not strongly affect that store’s tier for a single quarter. The tier-based system is expected to be fully rolled out by the end of 2026 and fully implemented during 2027.
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