Things are going quite well for Pocketpair right now. Its survival sandbox Palworld continues to generate profit for developers and maintain a high online presence (for example, today on Steam it held at 542,506 users).
Plus, this week Pocketpair, together with Bushiroad Inc., released the Palworld OFFICIAL CARD GAME tabletop collectible card game. This is a competitive project for two players, in which participants need to summon Pals, collect resources, use equipment, and build bases using building cards.
But, unfortunately, this TCG has already been flooded with scalpers looking to make a quick buck. Cards of monsters such as Cattiva, Chillet, and Jormuntide are being sold on some platforms for thousands of dollars each. Some cards are being asked for sums comparable to the cost of rare modern Pokemon cards.
What's worse, in many local specialty stores, the Palworld card game is already sold out. And this is despite the fact that by early July, Pocketpair had sold 3.5 million packs.
In the situation with the sudden price surge for Palworld, several points should be considered. Everything that hits the shelves now are first edition cards from the very first set. Regardless of whether buyers plan to keep the TCG products long-term or want to make a quick profit, such cards are of interest to both collectors and resellers.
The weeks leading up to a release, as well as the period immediately after a new set comes out, are typically volatile times for TCG prices. People are willing to pay huge markups to own the best cards in any game before anyone else. Once a new set becomes widely available, the fear of missing out causes people to spend more than they should on a card or sealed product.
As GamesRadar+ notes, a gold Cattiva card was sold for $4,000 (317,052 rubles) before the game's launch. The same card with perfect centering can now be purchased for $999 (79,183 rubles).
Tutorial video from the Palworld OFFICIAL CARD GAME YouTube channel
The price tag is still astronomical, but a 75% drop is a huge leap. At the same time, it's ironic that a game with monster designs that some consider "plagiarism" sells as well as Pokemon.