 Adkison set up a new corporation , Garfield Games , to develop Richard Garfield 's collectible card game concept , originally called Manaclash , into Magic : The Gathering . This kept the game sheltered from the legal battle with Palladium , and Garfield Games then licensed the production and sale rights to Wizards until the court case was settled , at which point the shell company was shut down . Wizards debuted Magic in July 1993 at the Origins Game Fair in Dallas . The game proved extremely popular at Gen Con in August 1993 , selling out of its supply of 2 @.@ 5 million cards , which had been scheduled to last until the end of the year . The success of Magic generated revenue that carried the company out from the handful of employees in 1993 working out of Peter 's original basement headquarters into 250 employees in its own offices in 1995 . In 1994 , Magic won both the Mensa Top Five mind games award and the Origins Awards for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Board game of 1993 and Best Graphic Presentation of a Board game of 1993 . 
