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19OctSteam Next Fest: Demo 2.0Next · Steam20OctSteam Next Fest Tournament (Crimson Cup)Online, in game; brackets on the official Discord

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The game · 6 min read · Updated September 15, 2026

Origins TCG explained in five minutes

What the game is, how a match works, what free-to-compete means and how to play the demo today.

What it is

Origins TCG is a digital trading card game by Koin Games, a studio based in Tampa, Florida, founded in 2021 by industry veterans. Its cast is made of public-domain legends reimagined in one original world: Robin Hood, Mulan, the Queen of Hearts, Winnie-the-Pooh, King Arthur, Dracula and many more.

The pitch is free-to-compete: every card you need to play competitively is earned by playing. Money only buys collectible versions of cards, which can be graded, traded and sold. The developers call it "zero pay-to-win".

How a match works

  • Three lanes. You and your opponent fight on three boards at once. Each lane has its own location, drawn from a pool of more than a hundred that rotate and change the rules of that board.
  • Simultaneous turns. Both players act at the same time, so there is no waiting. A match lasts about seven minutes.
  • Cards attack. Unlike pure "lane counting" games, units fight each other: Power is what you hit for, Health is what you can take.
  • Keywords. The playtest uses On Reveal (triggers when the card is played), On Death, First Strike, Double Attack and Deathtouch.
  • One Legendary leads the deck. In the current playtest decks are 25 cards and every deck is built around a Legendary card with a signature ability: Mulan repeats your allies' On Reveal abilities, the Queen of Hearts repeats their On Death abilities.

Modes

The demo has a tutorial, missions against bosses with their own AI, and online play. Patch 0.6.1 added a ranked ladder with divisions up to Grandmaster, a world leaderboard and Victory Points.

How to play today

  1. Install the free demo from the Steam page. Demo players earn exclusive collectibles that will be tradeable when the full game launches.
  2. Join the official Discord for playtests of the bigger "Demo 2.0" build, tournaments and AMAs with the team.
  3. The game is in English, French, Italian and German. Mobile is planned for 2027.

Where the game is going

Early access on Steam is listed for Q4 2026, with a much larger demo shown at Steam Next Fest (19–26 October 2026) and the studio's biggest tournament so far running 20–25 October. See the roadmap.

OriginsMeta is an independent project and is not affiliated with Koin Games.

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