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Richard Garfield Announces Popularium, a New Game Studio, in 2023

Richard Garfield and three game-industry veterans announced Popularium in April 2023, introducing Chaos Agents as the studio’s launch title. Current access information points players to Steam wishlisting for Alpha invitations.
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Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering, publicly announced the formation of game studio Popularium on April 12, 2023. Its co-founders also included Skaff Elias, Arka Ray and Jon Bankard, and the studio introduced Chaos Agents as its launch title.

Who founded Popularium?

Popularium’s April 2023 announcement named Garfield, Elias, Ray and Bankard as co-founders. It established the date of the public announcement, not the company’s precise legal incorporation date. The studio’s current team page lists Garfield as co-founder and Game Design Director, Ray as co-founder, President and Technical Director, and Bankard as co-founder, General Manager and Game Director. It lists Elias as Game Design Lead; the sources do not explain the difference between that current listing and his co-founder designation in the 2023 announcement.

The announcement framed Popularium around giving players a greater role in games and blurring the line between gamers and creators. Ray described the philosophy as “to empower gamers, instead of treating them purely as customers.” That is the studio’s stated aim, rather than a demonstrated outcome.

What is Chaos Agents?

Chaos Agents is the game Popularium introduced as its launch title. The studio currently describes it as an “Autobattler-Royale” and promotes globally unique Agents. A 2025 company filing characterizes the game as combining MOBA, autobattler and battle royale elements. These are Popularium’s descriptions of its hybrid genre, not a standard industry category.

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The original announcement presented the game as built around unique heroes and player-owned collections. Those concepts align with the studio’s stated interest in player ownership and creator participation, but the available descriptions do not establish that every player can create content or that every in-game item is owned in a particular technical or commercial sense.

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How can you play Chaos Agents?

As of October 8, 2026, Popularium’s homepage directs interested players to wishlist Chaos Agents on Steam to seek Alpha playtest invitations. The studio describes the opportunity as limited to 1,000 players; that is an invitation limit stated by Popularium, not a count of active players. The homepage also features 2026 coverage, patch notes and tournament information.

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The current site does not establish a general public release date or current price. An April 29, 2025 company filing recorded earlier plans for an approximately $20 initial purchase price, Early Access in Q4 2025 and full retail release in Q3 2026. Those were plans stated at filing time; they do not confirm current terms or that either release milestone occurred.

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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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