Retail sales — and licensing deals — in the trading card category have been growing at a fast pace over the past year or two. While sports cards and entertainment-based trading card games dominate this sector and continue to contribute significantly to its growth, there has also been expansion in other niches of the industry. One of those is collectible card sets based on entertainment/character properties, which have been proliferating this year. Some examples since January:
- Aardman Animations paired in September with Irish publisher Iconic Cards for a limited edition of 4,000 premium trading card sets, scheduled to debut next month, to mark Wallace and Gromit’s 50th anniversary. Designed with adult collectors and fans in mind, the set includes cards that are autographed, contain Aardman clay, feature Nick Park sketches, integrate coins from The Royal Mint, and more.
- Nintendo announced in September that it was collaborating with Panini on a trading card set to mark the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda. The Legend of Zelda: Master Collection features images from across the Zelda franchise, including from Skyward Sword, Tears of the Kingdom, and Ocarina of Time, as well as classic designs.
- Hasbro signed a new licensing agreement with Upper Deck in August 2026 for a variety of its properties, with a special-edition 40th anniversary set tied to Transformers: The Movie being the first product under the agreement. Additional sets based on Power Rangers, G.I. Joe, M.A.S.K., Jem and the Holograms, and other Hasbro properties were set for future releases.
- Rainbow said in July that it was partnering with Kayou for a Winx Club trading card collection to debut in the U.S. and Europe this month. Developed for both collectors and fans, both long-time and new to the property, with a skew toward females, the set features exclusive artwork, rarities, and content based on franchise storylines.
- Netflix partnered with Kayou in May for KPop Demon Hunters trading cards, launching with two editions: Classic, designed for all fans and containing eight rare cards, and Energy, created for dedicated collectors and featuring 11 rarities. Future releases in different configurations and price points were set to follow.
- Disney and Topps released their latest set of cards, featuring 200 base cards across Disney and Pixar properties, in June. Highlights included 20th anniversary designs for Cars, shadowbox editions for Lilo & Stitch, throwback Disney Channel images, Mickey & Friends MLB Home Jersey releases, Toy Story 5 examples including the new character Lilypad, and products autographed by the voice actors behind films including The Lion King. Disney and Topps expanded their relationship in 2024 to add Disney, Pixar, and Marvel rights to their long-running Star Wars-focused deal, with the first products under the extension, a Marvel set, debuting in early 2025.
Most researchers are forecasting continued robust growth for the trading card market over the next five or more years, with the pace of growth well over 5% per year according to several. This suggests that more entertainment licenses — among other property types — are likely to materialize in this category going forward.
Comments are closed.