Written by Liam Bosecke
UPDATE (3/02/2024)
In response to rumors that the company was being sold to Bandai, who famously own many popular trading card franchises including One Piece and Digimon. The owner of MetaZoo, Mike, has responded to a number of questions on this Discord in regards to this and to whether he will be apart of MetaZoo's possible future.
Screenshot taken from this YouTube Video
This leads us to believe that MetaZoo may be looking for new owners of the brand and isn't rulling anything out just yet.
Beginning of the End
In an unexpected announcement made by MetaZoo's creator Mike Waddell, MetaZoo announces that it is shutting down all operations. This comes off the back of the recently released crossover set featuring Hello Kitty titled 'Kuromi's Cryptid Carnival'.
For those that aren't in the loop, MetaZoo was a pioneer in launching a highly successful kickstarter campaign that fueled the trading Card Game renaissance left in the wake of Magic the Gathering pricing out and alienating many players during the COVID pandemic.
The game had mapped out the next 5 years wort of sets with plans to launch much anticipated sets from fans such as Yokai Island.
MetaZoo's roadmap
Whether other new TCG's such as Sorcery: Contested Realm, Lorcana Card Game and One Piece Card Game can survive the current economic climate remains to be seen. This is a sobering reminder however, that to all the new collectors of card games that weren't alive in the 90's, that companies rise and fall into ruin everyday of the week.
What's next for MetaZoo? Nobody can be certain as of the writing of this article. New ownership may step in and buy the IP, or it may never see the light of day again. Only time will tell.
Read the full announcement below.
