Bushiroad has announced a new competitive trading card game based on the world of Palworld, marking the latest expansion of the franchise beyond video games.
As confirmed to Dot Esports, the game will be a physical release rather than a digital one, and is set to launch on July 30, 2026. The Palworld Trading card game is designed as a two-player competitive experience built around strategic and tactical decision-making. Players deploy a variety of Pals, each with unique traits that influence how battles play out.
According to Bushiroad’s New Year’s Grand Announcement 2026 event, players will be able to use five types of cards: Pal cards, building cards, gear cards, event cards, and soul cards, which are required to play the other cards.
Bushiroad, along with the developer Pocketpair, described the game as an opportunity for players to team up with their favorite Pals and overcome formidable enemies through coordinated play and careful planning. The company is positioning the title as a fully competitive TCG rather than a purely collectible product.
Palworld has continued to expand into other projects to capitalize on its early hype and strong player turnout, including spinoff titles like Palfarm, and now appears to be following a Pokémon-like expansion path with its new trading card game, especially as its ongoing lawsuit continues to draw comparisons between the two.
The announcement continues Bushiroad’s long history in the trading card space, where it has developed and supported multiple competitive card games like Shadowverse Evolve in Japan, with organized play and long-term community backing. Before release, the game is going to host events in Tokyo and Osaka, where players can play the game with prototype cards, and then it’s going to be released with booster packs for players in Japanese and English.
With Palworld’s growing global popularity, the publisher is betting that the franchise can translate its appeal into a physical card game format aimed at both fans of the IP and competitive TCG players.
