MetaZoo Games, the publisher of a trading card game which became popular among some collectors during the pandemic, has announced its immediate shutdown. “It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that, effective immediately, MetaZoo Games will be closing and shutting down all operations,” MetaZoo founder Michael Waddell wrote on the company’s Discord. Waddell explained that the company was faced with logistical and product gridlocks that posed too great a challenge to the company for it to continue, although he hoped that MetaZoo would continue on as an IP at some point under new ownership. Shortly after the announcement, MetaZoo wiped its social media pages and shut down their official Discord.ย
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MetaZoo was founded in 2020 as a collectible trading card game that featured art (heavily inspired by Ken Sugimori’s early Pokemon artwork) of various cryptids and monsters from folklore. The game grew exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially after DJ and music producer Steve Aoki became an equity partner in the game. Although MetaZoo had a ruleset and gameplay, it seemed to draw attention primarily from collectors that were looking for the next Pokemon Trading Card Game or Magic: The Gathering to invest in.ย
At the time of its closure, MetaZoo was working on several crossover projects, including one with Sanrio featuring characters from Hello Kitty, and had just had its product added to shelves at Target. The game was also set to be featured on an upcoming episode of Pawn Stars.ย
MetaZoo is one of several recently launched card games that have made a splash either at game stores or with collectors. Some games, like Flesh & Blood (which launched about a year before MetaZoo) have quickly built up a solid playerbase, and others like Disney Lorcana and the One Piece TCG seem like they have long legs due to their associated IPs. However, some game store owners and industry watchers have wondered whether the new interest in trading card games is a boom or a bubble.ย
