Pixelborn, the free fan-made program that allows Lorcana players to practice the trading card game and play games online, is being shut down by Disney.
Its creator says they were contacted by Disney representatives and asked to respect the company’s intellectual property rights “by not copying the cards or in any way suggesting an affiliation with Disney”. As a result, they say, Pixelborn will close down on June 16, 2024.
Pixelborn’s creator, Pavel Kolev, says in messages on Twitter and Discord that they’re heartbroken by the closure of their TCG project, which they’ve worked on over the last year and half. However, they explain: “I’ve always stated I would respect such a request, and I plan to keep my word and will not grasp at technicalities.”
Pixelborn has been around for just over a year – and actually arrived shortly before any physical Disney Lorcana cards were available to buy. Over the last 12 months it has provided a way for people to try out the game for free. According to Kolev, more than 6.5 million Lorcana games have been played via Pixelborn, and $60,000 raised for charity via Patreon.
Many fans have championed Pixelborn as their main way of accessing the game at times when product has been thin on the ground or in locations without a local scene.
But given that the project was entirely unofficial, it is perhaps surprising that this Lorcana simulator survived as long as it did. The real question is not, “Why was Pixelborn shut down?” It’s, “Why was it shut down now?”
Some fans suggest that Pixelborn may have continued to fly under the radar if it hadn’t hosted tournaments in recent months with prize pools in the thousands. This seems like particularly unfortunate timing, considering official Lorcana championships started up in May.
There’s also always the possibility that Ravensburger is working on its own digital version of Disney Lorcana.
Wargamer is currently reaching out to Ravensburger for comment, to see if we can shed any more light on the issue.
For more Lorcana content, check out these Disney Lorcana Enchanted cards. We’ve also ranked all the Disney Lorcana starter sets from weakest to strongest.