As February marks Pokemon's 25th anniversary, and with the recent McDonald's Happy Meal tie-in, there has been a clear increase in the franchise's already popular presence. In fact, Twitch metrics show the Pokemon trading card category has seen an increase of over 3000% in monthly viewership.
Twitch is home to some of the most popular video game streamers around the world, and is largely considered the go-to place for fans and streamers alike to watch and discuss their favorite games. In previous years, card games were not a very popular category on the platform, but the Pokemon Trading Card Game is quickly changing that.
The Pokemon TCG's 3000%+ viewership increase on Twitch occurred from March 2020 to January 2021, and is now the second most popular Pokemon category on the platform, behind Pokemon Sword and Shield. The category sees popular Twitch streamers like Islandgrown and FireDragon opening new and vintage packs of Pokemon cards and reacting to the treasures or disappointments that are held within. While rare Pokemon cards can be insanely expensive, vintage decks can cost a pretty penny as well, so the fun of the broadcasts often comes from seeing whether the streamer is rewarded or punished after paying big bucks for a vintage deck.
Still, it's no surprise that Pokemon Sword and Shield remains a more popular Twitch category than the trading card game. Pokemon Sword and Shield still receives frequent updates, and are the most recent video games released in the Pokemon universe. However, given Sword and Shield's relative recentness and frequent updates, it becomes all the more impressive that a 25 year old card game could rise to the 2nd most popular Pokemon category so quickly.
Of course, Pokemon cards are still made today, and with the McDonald's Happy Meal Pokemon cards in high demand, the Twitch broadcasts don't focus solely on the vintage decks. Many broadcasts see the streamers hoping for more modern Pokemon cards like last year's Zacian V card as well as working toward the goal of obtaining all of the new McDonald's Pokemon cards.
The trading card game aside, there are a lot of things happening in the world of Pokemon for the franchise's 25th anniversary. A new Pokemon Snap game is coming later this year, and anniversary tie-in products from clothing lines to skateboards are planned. Fans who prefer the classic card game, however, need look no further than Twitch to celebrate the iconic Pokemon series' 25th anniversary.