Launched during the pandemic, the MetaZoo trading card game has abruptly closed down.
An announcement has been posted from the creator behind the project, Michael Waddell, and the official Twitter account has been deleted.
“It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that, effective immediately, MetaZoo Games will be closing and shutting down all operations,” states the notice. “I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the community for the incredible 4 year run that we had.”
You can read the full notice below.
I was at Comic-Con last year and took video of their display.
#metazoo at comic-con 2023 rip pic.twitter.com/atXixIwue2
— Cosmic Book News (@cosmicbooknews) January 29, 2024
Hoped to be the next Pokemon
As of now, the official website is still up and the site seems to be accepting orders, though according to Twitter user TeamPDC, MetaZoo apparenly hasn’t fulfilled any pre-orders in six months.
At one time, MetaZoo was being compared to Pokemon as the MetaZoo cards also feature monsters dubbed “cryptids” and “other paranormal phenomena, artifacts and spells to help support your beasties in battle, and has a fully realized and blooming competitive scene.”
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
— TeamPDC (@pdc_adrian) January 29, 2024
Metazoo has officially closed down. Their Twitter / X account has also been deleted 👀
Was this a rug pull? pic.twitter.com/p7TcEZciRp
They sold hello kitty to distro/stores that were supposed to sell it as a $150 premium product
— TeamPDC (@pdc_adrian) January 29, 2024
Then on Black Friday metazoo went ahead and sold it themselves for $30, essentially undercutting all their partners and making the product worthless.
They only sold 30% of those…
apparently the company hasnt shipped preorders in like 6 months
— TeamPDC (@pdc_adrian) January 29, 2024
MetaZoo Games Closure
It is with a heavy heart that I must announce that, effective immediately, MetaZoo Games will be closing and shutting down all operations.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone in the community for the incredible 4 year run that we had. MetaZoo Games was started during the pandemic and provided a home and created a culture that revitalized the TCG industry, launching a new wave of card games that now number in the hundreds. I’m proud to have been part of that, and you should be too.
Unfortunately, that era has passed, and faced with logistical and product gridlocks, MetaZoo Games can no longer continue to exist in the current economic and collectibles markets. It is my hope that MetaZoo can continue on as an IP at some point in the future under new ownership, and I look forward to that day.
Special thanks to all MetaZoo artists and staff, both past and present, that made these past 4 years possible. The memories we created will be something we cherish for the rest of our lives.
More information will follow and be communicated via our discord channel when it becomes available.
Thanks for everything once again,
Michael Waddell
