Is Modern Coming To MTG Arena?

Magic The Gathering: Arena fans have been wondering about the potential inclusion of Modern format in the game for years now, and with so many different formats represented in the game it's no wonder why. Arena promises to encapsulate the most complete version of Magic The Gathering in a digital platform, yet it's missing one key format in the swathe of formats, and fans are getting tired of waiting. Sadly, Wizards of the Coast has offered an update on the format, and it's not good.

Modern Format Has Been Abandoned

In a recent blog post by the Game Director of Magic The Gathering: Arena, Jay Parker, Wizards of the Coast confirmed their intentions in regards to Modern Format and Magic The Gathering: Arena, stating that:

"While we have seen player interest in Modern on MTG Arena, especially after our recent announcements at GenCon regarding Modern Horizons 3, this isn't something we currently have in our plans. There's simply too large a content gap there for us to close anytime soon."

It's worth noting that they're not kidding about that content gap. Modern Format has access to over 18,000 different cards, and Magic The Gathering: Arena currently has around 9000. It would double the workload to port all 9000 missing cards over, and it would likely be impossibly difficult to do so. 

Does this mean Modern Format will never come to MTG: Arena?

It's fairly likely that this means we won't see Modern Format ever come to MTG: Arena, due to the fact that by the time we catch up to the currently 18,000 cards in Modern Format another 9,000 cards could have been added to the paper play Trading Card Game. It's just not feasible to expect the developers to be that quick with adding cards to the game, and it's not possible to implement a format so wide.