Disney Lorcana sales fell in 2025, settle at high level after ‘initial hype’ powered explosive growth

Ravensburger said sales of its flagship trading card game Disney Lorcana fell last year, “settling at a high level” following an explosive start which quickly made the title a ‘long-term pillar’ of the company’s products.

The company said demand for the TCG had “normalised” in the wake of “initial hype” for the game after its August 2023 release, which saw it power to more than a billion cards sold by the beginning of 2025 – making it the most successful product launch in Ravensburger’s history.

Ravensburger said game buyers whose primary interest was in its investment prospects “have withdrawn”, adding that the game “continues to enjoy growing popularity among its core target group of players and collectors”.

It added that card sets released in the second half of 2025 were “sell-outs” and that the number of players continues to grow, aided by organised play events offered in specialist hobby and game stores.

Ravensburger said, “From its debut in 2023, Disney Lorcana has developed into a sustainable business segment and therefore a long-term pillar of the Ravensburger product portfolio.

“The company continues to expand the realm with new products such as puzzles and books. Beginning with Set 12, which will launch in May 2026, fans can also look forward to the first Pixar characters, including those from the animated film ‘Toy Story’.”

Ravensburger’s overall sales fell for the first time since 2022 last year, dropping 5.9% to €744m – but the company said its core business of games, puzzles and books grew by 3%.

The company said that international toy markets were showing “positive developments” despite global challenges, driven particularly by a growth in purchases for families and adults – with card games among products which “benefited significantly” from the trend.

Ravensburger chief sales officer Susanne Knoche added that she was particularly pleased with the development of the core business in two regions, saying, “Despite adverse trading conditions, such as numerous new customs regulations, we were able to achieve above-average growth of 11% in the USA and Canada.

“We also saw strong results in Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia) with an increase of 12%.”

A statement from Ravensburger accompanying its 2025 results said, “The international market environment is currently undergoing fundamental changes: trade barriers, technological upheavals, changing consumer behavior, and increasing global competition are key factors.

“This is accompanied by rising cost pressure for the company across the entire value chain. In addressing these developments, Ravensburger is adapting its structures and cost base.

Alongside these operational changes, the company is investing more heavily in experiential concepts that go beyond the product and bring fans and communities together.”

That includes the company’s event portfolio, including retailer and trade-fair events as well as tournaments and community formats around Disney Lorcana, which it said were often booked out within a short time.

Lorcana’s next set, Winterspell, is due for prerelease at local game stores and Disney stores on February 13, and for wider release on February 20.

Two months ago Ravensburger demanded trading card company Upper Deck pay $3.8m in legal fees it ran up in its successful two-year legal battle against the latter’s claims it stole the design Lorcana.

Upper Deck had begun its unsuccessful lawsuit against Ravensburger and Lorcana lead designer Ryan Miller in the summer of 2023, alleging the designer took his work on Upper Deck’s previously unannounced game Rush of Ikorr with him when he left the company in 2020 – and transported it to his new employer Ravensburger to create Lorcana.