Update 10/6/23: Over the year this Roadmap has changed quite a bit!
Check out what 2023 Products have come out so far this year.
As well as what Upcoming Products we are hoping to see released!
January
Revive UFO and Seance
Kicking us off in January we can expect a release of ReVive skateboards for both UFO and Seance! With the unexpected delays experienced with Wilderness ReVive, MetaZoo stated that they would not put these up on the marketplace until they have them ready. While we have not seen any teasers at this time for UFO boards, we have seen Possessed Aura board art for Seance.
Streamer Kits 1.0
The first round of streamer kits are expected to drop in January as well. These kits are designed to help MetaZoo streamers across a variety of platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, and WhatNot. Details on the contents of the kits have not been released, but I would expect these to contain various MetaZoo products, stands, exclusive promos, and other items to support a growing channel.
February
February does not have any releases slated on the roadmap, however, we do know that there will be a Valentine’s Day Release. The drop will be headlined with plushies, a MetaZoo Plushie promo that heals casters if they hug, and a set of pages.
March
The MetaZoo Foundation Gala
MetaZoo’s first MetaZoo Foundation Gala will take place in March in New York City. The Gala will be a formal event with partners, influencers, VIPs, and full set token holders on the invite list, each being allowed a +1. An exclusive product line will be available at the Gala and items will be auctioned with proceeds being used to support various Native American tribes.
Topps Chrome
The long-awaited Topps Chrome release will take place in March. We’ve seen a tease a few months ago featuring Banshee of the Badlands. Topps Chrome features exclusive holo patterns and a higher-quality card stock than what we saw with Series-0 and Topps Wilderness. Mike had also mentioned that they are considering sticking with Topps Chrome exclusively for future Topps collaborations.
April
Native
The next core set, Native, will release on April 1st, 2023. Native will be an Earth-themed set, headlined by Piasa Bird. With Piasa Bird being a Flame beastie in Cryptid Nation, we are likely going to see a dual aura Flame/Earth beastie. We’ve seen a number of beasties teased for Native including Atabey, Tupilaq, and Crow Mother. The set will also feature new dual-aura Fusion Auras which will feature every dual-aura Earth combination.
Glitchbit Arcade Series
Glitchbit makes a single arcade game currently, called Retro Raccoons. The game features 16-bit art, pitting 2-4 players against each other in a series of mini-games. In the fall of 2022, they teased work on a Loveland Frogman character for Retro Raccoons. Could this be a test concept design for MetaZoo?
May
Native ReVive
A month after Native releases we can expect to purchase Native ReVive. With the mention of a Bear Walker partnership late in 2022, it was speculated that we may no longer see ReVive releases. It’s safe to say that is not the case and MetaZoo x ReVive endures!
June
HiroQuest 3.0
With HiroQuest 2.0 close in hand we now know that we have roughly a 6-month wait until the next round of HiroQuest will be available. This sets up a HiroQuest release schedule for roughly 2 releases a year! If each set covers the recovery of one of each of the Pullet Rings, this brings us well into 2024 to complete Hiro’s current quest to recover the rings. HiroQuest 3 is expected to be bundled with a comic book. Will we finally get an official story for Hiro’s Quest?! We’ll find out soon!
July
San Diego Comic-Con
MetaZoo will be kicking off its IP at SDCC this year with the debut of the Animated Shorts they are working on with Pure Imagination Studios. It’s unclear if we’ll be getting a full short debut at this time or if we’re going to be seeing teasers for the shorts to come! Casting calls have yet to begin for this project. The MetaZoo: Cryptid Nation book will also debut in July, most likely alongside the animated shorts during San Diego Comic-con.
August
War
The 7th core set, War, will release in August 2023. While we do not have a lot of information about War at this time, it has been confirmed that this is the next core set to contain Mothman. War has the potential to be the largest MetaZoo core set of the Cryptid Nation block due to the return of every beastie from previous sets. War will feature cards with multiple beasties on the same card, some actively battling each other.
War ReVive
Within the same month as the War Release, we will be getting a ReVive release for War! It is hard to say what we can expect with how little we know about the set, however, if they will feature beasties engaging in battle, these could be some of the most interesting decks we will see in the ReVive collaboration.
September
MetaZoo Online TCG
In September we can expect to gain access to the long-awaited MetaZoo Online TCG! Today, we have online play options via Table Top Simulator or Webcam, however, an officially supported online client could help enforce that the rules of the game are properly followed, reduce the risk of cheating, and streamline the remote experience by designing an application custom-built for MetaZoo gameplay. Code cards were originally expected to release last year, but had been delayed due to delays with the Online TCG client. Given the current timelines, we can expect to see the inclusion of code cards in War or SCP.
October
SCP
Originally slated to be a mini-set released in December 2022, SCP has been officially moved to be the 2023 fall core set released for the Cryptid Nation block. SCP will feature beasties, spells, and artifacts based on lore from the SCP Foundation. Secure Contain Protect.
New York Comic Con
The biggest MetaZoo event of the season will take place on October 12th – 15th 2023 at New York Comic Con. The 4-day event is sure to be filled with many different partnerships with vendors around the venue. In 2022, MetaZoo worked with 6 vendors and partners to offer promo cards to attendees that visited their respective booths. Those vendors included What’s Your Passion, eBay, CGC, PSA, Pin Club, and Goldin Auctions. With 10 months until this event, it is likely that we will see more NYCC vendors become MetaZoo partners.
As if NYCC wasn’t big enough on its own, MetaZoo will be holding its biggest tournament of the year during the convention! With 7 tower events throughout 2023 culminating with the Caster’s Cup at NYCC, MetaZoo has a tournament prize pool of 1.6 million dollars; 1.25 million of which will be up for grabs at Caster’s Cup. Caster’s Cup 2022 in Dallas took place over 2 days. If Caster’s Cup 2023 is also a 2-day tournament, that would give players time to play in the event and enjoy the convention.
November
Streamer Kits 2.0
In November, MetaZoo will release another round of streamer kits. The second round is likely to be the same as the first round with minor adjustments.
November 2022 was the first year to see a Thanksgiving promo, however, I do expect to see one in 2023 as well.
December
Prior to the release of the 7 Seas transition set in March of 2024, a comic will be released detailing the events of Sam’s adventures from Cryptid Nation to Yokai Island. It’s unclear if this will be considered the novella that is planned for 7 Seas or if the comic is another IP on top of the 7 Seas Novella. We can also expect to see another end-of-year holiday set for MetaZoo, maybe 7 Seas related!