The world’s largest procurer of Pokémon cards is celebrating the game’s 30th anniversary with a Zodiac-themed release.
Today, February 17, the collectibles trading platform Courtyard.io announced the launch of a “Zodiac Pack” for Lunar New Year 2026. Users will be able to purchase cards from a curated set of Pokémon cards that represent the 12 zodiac animals, with prices starting at $99. Like other purchases on the platform, users who open Zodiac Packs will not immediately receive physical cards; instead, they will be able to view a digitized version of the card, with the option to have a corresponding physical card shipped to their front door for an additional fee.
“Because it’s all digital, we can create these experiences that would not be possible before,” said Courtyard CEO Nicolas le Jeune in an interview with GamesBeat. “You can do a Charizard pack; you can do Pikachu-only packs; you can do a set-starter-only pack. The Zodiac Pack is the best type of example, where we can have something very unique and special, and you can do a lot of curation that way.”
Courtyard’s claim to be the world’s largest procurer of Pokémon cards is bold, but the company has the stats to back it up. Since starting in 2021, Courtyard has grown its user base to over one million and generated $750 million in annual gross merchandise value over the past year, according to numbers shared by a company representative, who credited Courtyard’s gamified shopping process and generous buyback policy for this growth. So far, users have purchased over 5 million cards on the platform, according to the company rep.
“We have a team of dealers who source cards for us — that’s more than 100 dealers that are going to shows every weekend, and we source between $15,000 to $400,000 a week from each dealer,” le Jeune said. “We’re selling close to $2.5 million a day.”
Courtyard’s recent growth is a reflection of the cultural ascendance of collecting and trading cards over the past year. As nostalgia powers purchases of older collectible card sets like Pokémon and Magic: The Gathering, and newer, IP-powered collectible card games like Disney’s Lorcana and Riot Games’ Riftbound emerge on the scene, Courtyard is tapping into a rising tide that is supporting both card game marketplaces and the broader ecosystem of companies tapping into collectible card fandom, particularly as collectors increasingly view cards as an investment, rather than just game pieces.
“In the 70s, 80s and 90s, when people collected, they weren’t so aware of protecting their products as much as now,” said Ultra PRO International senior brand manager Jennifer Wu in an interview with GamesBeat. “Now, with social media and breakers and so many influencers educating a younger audience, retaining that return on investment and protecting their value is actually really ingrained, from a marketing standpoint.”
Although Courtyard allows its users to access their physical cards if they desire, the rise of the platform shows how collectors are gradually becoming more comfortable owning digital cards and collectibles, viewing them as similar to physical collectibles they can hold in their hands. Other products and services have arisen in recent years to meet this growing interest in digital/physical collectibles, like GameStop’s Power Packs. Despite this cultural shift, some observers in the space believe fully digital collectibles will never be able to supplant physical cards — making Courtyard’s redemption feature a necessary aspect of the platform.
“You have to touch it; you have to feel it. At some point, you can sell it to me digitally, but then I have to take ownership of it physically,” said Alladan Flinn, the founder of the trading card company Based Trading Cards, in an interview with GamesBeat. “So, I think there are a lot of things that you can collect digitally that will be very popular, but they’re meant to be played with, touched and collected.”