The official Palworld Trading Card Game has launched into a familiar problem: intense demand is making some cards difficult and expensive to obtain for people who simply want to play or collect them.
Pocketpair’s monster-collecting game was often compared with Pokémon, but the comparison now extends beyond creature designs. Cards featuring Cattiva, Chillet and Jormuntide have been selling on eBay for thousands of dollars each.
That is remarkable given the TCG had only been available for about a day when these prices were recorded. Some cards were already reaching levels associated with modern Pokémon chase cards, while many local card shops had sold out. This shortage came despite Pocketpair having sold 3.5 million packs by early July.
Why Palworld card prices rose so quickly
The first release contains the game’s inaugural first-edition cards, giving the entire launch set extra appeal. Collectors may want the earliest products for their collections, while resellers are targeting buyers who believe those first cards could become more valuable over time.
Launch periods are particularly unstable for any trading card game. Before a set reaches a broad audience, early buyers can pay exceptional premiums to secure desirable cards. Once release day arrives, fear of missing out can also encourage collectors to spend heavily on singles or sealed products.
Prices commonly need several weeks to settle. A useful comparison is the Morpeko special illustration card from a Pokémon set released in July. It sold for $200 before reaching retail, then fell by approximately 35% to about $127 after a couple of weeks.
A dramatic early correction
The Palworld TCG is showing the same pattern. As noted by GamesRadar, the Cattiva Gold Soul card reached $4,000 before launch. A perfectly centred copy could later be bought for $999. That remains a significant price, but the 75% fall shows how unreliable launch-day valuations can be.
The result is an awkward twist for a game whose creature designs have been criticised by some people as “rip offs” of Pokémon: its card game is now attracting similarly powerful collector demand.
There are also reasons for fans to remain cautious. Early reactions to the new game have largely been positive, and the wider Palworld brand has already demonstrated lasting appeal. If that demand continues, resellers could keep creating problems for players and genuine collectors.
Similar shortages and speculative buying have affected Lorcana and One Piece. For Australian fans, the sensible approach is to treat launch prices as volatile rather than guaranteed values, and to wait for supply and demand to settle before committing to expensive cards.
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