Pokemon Cards Are Returning To McDonald’s Despite The Diastrous Promo Event Earlier This Year
Josh has been playing video games for longer than he can remember, kicking things off with a Master System before upgrading to a Mega Drive. Covering the industry since 2018, if a game has a strong story – or even better, the decisions you make determine the course of that story – odds are he’s going to like it. Or, you know, put Sonic or Pikachu on the cover and that’ll get his attention too.
The rumors are true. Pokemon cards will once again return to McDonald’s Happy Meals in 2026, and it sounds like the next installment in this long-running tradition will be even bigger than any that have come before it, as it will be part of Pokemon’s 30th anniversary celebrations.
A list of upcoming Happy Meal crossovers has been doing the rounds on social media over the holidays. While its source remains unclear, reliable leaker PokeBeach has confirmed that the section about Pokemon cards, at the very least, is accurate.
Pokemon Cards Will Reportedly Be Back In McDonald s Happy Meals Very Soon
PokeBeach has confirmed that Pokemon cards will be back in Happy Meals across February and March, and that even though the card designs haven’t been revealed, it will be a 30th anniversary tie-in. That makes a lot of sense since Pokemon’s 30th birthday is at the end of February, so you’ll be able to mark the occasion by picking up some promotional cards at McDonald’s.
It is worth noting that even though the McDonald’s Pokemon card promos run the world over, they usually happen at different periods in different places throughout the year. Where exactly the cards will be available in February and March hasn’t been confirmed, but since that’s when the series’ anniversary falls, it would make sense to make the cards available in as many regions as possible at the same time.
Pokemon’s 2025 crossover with McDonald’s included 15 cards and the underlying theme was Dragon-types. There may be a lot more cards to collect via the next promo, though. The last time Pokemon cards were in Happy Meals to celebrate an anniversary, there were 50 of them to collect, with every starter Pokemon represented.
Pokemon Card Confirmation Might Mean We re Also Getting Mario Galaxy Toys
Since the Pokemon TCG part of the leaked Happy Meal schedule is accurate, that might mean other stops on McDonald’s 2026 crossover tour are on point, too. The rundown also includes a run of Mario toys to coincide with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hitting theaters, and what appears to be a Sonic x Hello Kitty crossover in the summer.
Even though McDonald’s and Pokemon’s crossovers have been big business for years, this was the first time that there were fears we might not get another team-up between the two. The promotion ran in Japan for the first time and was called off after just one day when so-called Pokemon fans bought Happy Meals in bulk, removed the cards, and then threw the food out in the street. Suffice to say, I wouldn’t go expecting to see the anniversary cards show up in Japan.
We want to hear from you! Share your opinions in the thread below and remember to keep it respectful.
Please respect our community guidelines. No links, inappropriate language, or spam.
