Disney Lorcana's Unofficial Pixelborn Simulator to Shut Down After Disney "Request"
Disney Lorcana's unofficial Pixelborn simulator will shut down next month.
An unofficial Disney Lorcana simulator popular with fans and content creators will shut down next month, after its creator cited a request from Disney representatives. Today, Pavel Kolev, the founder and lead developer of the online Disney Lorcana simulator Pixelborn announced on the app's Discord that he would shut down the app, citing a request from Disney representatives. "Earlier this month, Disney representatives contacted me," Kolev wrote. "I was advised that 'Disney has intellectual property rights in the Disney Lorcana cards and that Disney has requested Pixelborn 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."
Pixelborn was launched on May 6th ahead of the official release of Disney Lorcana and quickly became a hub for the game's most rabid players. The app frequently added cards shortly after their reveals on social media, allowing many players to have a head start on integrating upcoming cards into their decks ahead of official releases. However, Pixelborn was indeed an unofficial app with no permission to use Disney Lorcana card images and many players assumed that it was living on borrowed time.
Per Kolev on Twitter, as of early May, over 6.5 million games of Disney Lorcana had been played on Pixelborn.
Job listings have suggested that Ravensburger is developing their own online Disney Lorcana play system, which would also lead to competition for Pixelborn. Ravensburger has not confirmed that an official Disney Lorcana online play system is in development and has made no mention of any such play system in their frequent communications about the game to fans.
Many fans have cited Pixelborn as a reason for Disney Lorcana's success, especially after the game's launch when physical cards weren't available. Some fans are also concerned that Pixelborn's pending demise would lead to a disparity in play availability, as Pixelborn allowed those who didn't have a nearby organized play location to still get in games regularly. The lack of an easily accessible online client may also mean that Disney Lorcana's metagame, which has long been dominated by two decks may not develop as quickly moving forward, as the app's users seemed to quickly suss out dominant decks and gameplay styles.
