New Report Confirms Pokemon TCG Massively Increased Production in 2026 (But It’s Still Not Enough)

As Pokemon cards continue to grow in popularity, fans are greeted by empty shelves more often than not. That has led many frustrated collectors to ask why The Pokemon Company doesn’t just print more cards. But despite operating at max capacity to try to meet growing demand, it seems that there still just isn’t enough product to go around. According to newly released data on the number of cards printed over the last year, however, it certainly isn’t for lack of trying.

The reality is that The Pokemon Company can only print as many cards as their current facilities can handle. And there’s also distribution logistics and quality control to consider. The company’s move to acquire and build a massive new campus should help matters eventually, but that won’t be complete until 2027 at the earliest. But when The Pokemon Company says it’s printing cards at max capacity, it isn’t kidding. According to a new report from Pokemon TCG site PokeBeach, the number of cards printed over the last year is a massive step up from prior years.

Pokemon TCG Printed 10 Billion More Cards This Year, But Fans Are Still Struggling to Beat Out Scalpers

The Pokemon Company recently released a report detailing how many Pokemon TCG cards were printed worldwide from March 2025 to March 2026. And the numbers prove that, even if it doesn’t feel like it, there really are more Pokemon cards in circulation now than ever before. The TCG is now printed in a total of 16 different languages, with cards available in 90 unique countries/regions. That’s a lot of Pokemon cards, especially compared to the early days of the Pokemon TCG when the cards were only available in around 30 countries. Yet somehow, demand is still outpacing supply, leading The Pokemon Company looking for new ways to scale up production. But in the meantime, they’re doing their best.

According to this latest report, over 85 billion Pokemon cards were printed between March 2025 and March 2026. That’s an increase of around 10 billion over last year’s 75 billion cards. In fact, the numbers have been going up by roughly 10 billion, give or take, every year since 2022 as Pokemon’s global popularity has skyrocketed. Here are the Pokemon TCG global print numbers from the last few years, as reported by PokeBeach:

• 2026: 85 billion+ cards
• 2025: 75 billion+ cards
• 2024: 64.8 billion+ cards
• 2023: 52.9 billion+ cards
• 2022: 43.2 billion+ cards
• 2021: 34.1 billion+ cards
• 2020: 30.4 billion+ cards

Read Next

Pokemon Fans Have a Rare Chance To Buy Complete 1st Edition Pokemon TCG Base Set

As you can see, demand and production have increased sharply since around 2021. Since 2022, The Pokemon Company has not only expanded to printing roughly 10 billion extra cards per year, but they’ve also grown from 13 to 16 languages and from 77 to 90 countries. Clearly, global demand for Pokemon cards is on the rise, and it’s not showing any signs of slowing down soon.

Aided by Pokemon TCG Pocket and hype around Pokemon cards as an investment, demand for product has steadily increased over the last few years. Since the Eevee-themed Prismatic Evolutions in particular, it’s been hard to find Pokemon cards on shelves here in the U.S. But the scalping problem isn’t just for us, as Japan has begun implementing anti-scalper measures like a Pokemon quiz and more. Hopefully, as The Pokemon Company’s new production facilities get up and running, increased availability will lead to more product on shelves and more cards for fans, not scalpers.

Are you surprised to see how many Pokemon cards are printed each year? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!