Palworld toys are up for pre-order, and they're coming for Pokémon
The Loyal Subjects’ Pal figures are up for pre-order — but they’re the smallest piece of a game, trading-card, and Aniplex-backed empire built on Pokémon’s exact blueprint.
The Loyal Subjects has Palworld figures up for pre-order on BigBadToyStore, Entertainment Earth, and Amazon right now, mostly in the $19.99 to $24.99 range.
You can put a deposit on a Relaxaurus, a Foxparks, a Chillet — a slice of the game’s 200-plus collectible “Pals.” There’s a chibi-style Cheebee line and plush in the mix too. The first figures are estimated to ship around August 2026.
Cute vinyl monsters you catch and collect. Where have we seen that before.
The Loyal Subjects deal is the least interesting part
Here’s the thing. The toys aren’t the story. They’re the part of the story you can pre-order today.
The Loyal Subjects -- the company behind Strawberry Shortcake, TMNT, and a wall of Action Vinyls -- signed the Palworld license back in August 2025. CEO Jonathan Cathey called the game “the next big thing” for retailers, pointing at its 32-million-plus player base.
A toy line is the obvious move for any hit game. On its own, it’s a shelf at your local comic shop. Stacked next to everything else Palworld is doing this summer, it’s a corner of a much bigger map.
Palworld’s trading card game launches July 30 — with a World Championship
This is where it stops looking like merch and starts looking like a plan.
Back in January, at Bushiroad‘s Cardfight!! Vanguard anniversary event, Palworld announced an official trading card game. It launches worldwide on July 30 — two trial decks and a booster, in English, Japanese, and Simplified Chinese on day one.
And Bushiroad isn’t shipping a novelty. The TCG already has organized play mapped out: store-level demos this spring, regional qualifiers in the fall, and a World Championship at Card Game Festival 2027.
Regional qualifiers feeding a Worlds bracket. If that structure sounds familiar, it’s because it’s exactly how the Pokémon TCG has run for two decades.
Why Aniplex owning a piece of Palworld is the anime tell
There’s no formal Palworld anime series announcement yet. But the machine to make one is already assembled, and that’s the part worth watching.
Palworld isn’t managed by Pocketpair alone. The licensing arm, Palworld Entertainment, is a joint venture between Pocketpair, Sony Music Entertainment Japan, and its subsidiary Aniplex -- the studio behind Demon Slayer and Fate. It was set up in 2024 specifically to “expand and develop new businesses” off the game.
Pocketpair has been quietly dropping animated Pal shorts for months, and has floated the idea of a manga. When one of the biggest names in anime co-owns your IP, the cartoon isn’t an if. It’s a when.
This is the Pokémon playbook, run page by page
Step back and the shape is unmistakable. A monster-collecting game. A competitive trading card game with a Worlds circuit. A toy and plush line. An anime engine idling in the driveway.
That’s not four random licensing deals. That’s Pokémon‘s entire empire, rebuilt brick by brick -- and all of it landing around the game’s 1.0 launch on July 10, the day Palworld finally leaves early access.
The audacity is the best part. Palworld is assembling a Pokémon-shaped media empire while Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are actively suing Pocketpair for patent infringement over the game’s mechanics.
So they’re getting taken to court by the company whose playbook they’re running. And the toys are already up for pre-order anyway.
Article compiled and edited by Derek Gibbs (entertainment editor) and the Clownfish TV newsroom.
D/REZZED is part of Clownfish TV. For more news, views, and rants on gaming, tech, and pop culture, visit clownfishtv.com. Watch the show on YouTube at @ClownfishTV where new episodes drop daily. Subscribe to the Clownfish TV podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, and wherever else you get your podcasts. Sign up for the free newsletter at more.clownfishtv.com.
Hat Tips:
The Toy Book and License Global (September 2025), verified for The Loyal Subjects’ Palworld licensing deal, Jonathan Cathey’s quotes, and the rollout timing
BigBadToyStore (June 2026), verified for the current pre-order listings, price points, characters, and the August 2026 ship estimate
Anime News Network (January 13, 2026), verified for the Bushiroad Palworld TCG announcement, the July 30 worldwide launch, the trial-deck/booster details, and the organized-play and World Championship structure
Anime News Network (June 5, 2026), verified for the Palworld 1.0 launch date of July 10 and the Palworld Entertainment joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment Japan and Aniplex
ComicBook (June 2025), verified for Pocketpair’s animated Pal shorts and the stated manga/anime ambitions