How CookieRun: Braverse Ran Head-First Into The World Of TCGs (Interview)

Published Jul 20, 2026, 4:00 PM EDT Yuliya Geikhman has been writing professionally for over 17 years. She started out in the MMO scene with Pando Media Booster and now dives into everything gaming at Screen Rant. She's a lifelong gamer, a relentless industry sleuth, and a passionate follower of everything happening in the games industry. The CookieRun franchise got its start in 2009 as an endless runner inspired by the Gingerbread Man folk tale. Developed by Devsisters, the franchise didn't get its iconic name until 2013, when the game was integrated into the popular South Korean messaging platform, KakaoTalk. It then expanded to LINE and mobile devices and took the world by storm. The striking and recognizable style, creative designs, and ever-expanding roster of playable cookies has drawn a player base of over 300 million worldwide players. As the dedicated community has grown, so has the CookieRun franchise. The game's beloved cookies have made the leap to many spinoff games of a variety of genres, like the world-building Cookie Run: Kingdom, the OverSmash MOBA, and even a VR roguelike. In September 2023, the series leaped out of mobile devices and into the physical world with the release of the trading card game, CookieRun: Braverse. ScreenRant spoke with Devsisters' TCG Business Team Lead Hyesung Yang about the future of the TCG and the CookieRun franchise as a whole. Bringing CookieRun: Braverse To North America CookieRun: Braverse was first released in South Korea and other Asian regions before finally landing in North America in July 2025. Entering the North American market took two years because the team was dedicated to making the TCG approachable, long-lasting, and, above all, fun. According to Hyesung, "Even before launch, members of our headquarters team traveled throughout North America, visiting local card shops, introducing the game, and listening to feedback from retailers and players." This hands-on approach resulted in a game that was quickly adopted even by NA retailers that were initially skeptical of yet "another new TCG." The key to the TCG's success has been in leveraging the by-now extremely known IP and making the TCG as approachable as possible. "We didn't want Braverse to be a TCG exclusively for existing hobby players," says Hyesung. "We wanted it to be a game that friends, couples, and families could enjoy together." Of course, the popularity of the card game comes with some drawbacks, too. I attended a CookieRun x Line Friends collaboration in NYC where the line stretched around the block. With this kind of huge fan reception, bad apples like scalpers are inevitable. Hyesung admits that ensuring all fans have access to the TCG is a challenge the team is aware of. "For that reason," she assures fans,"one of our biggest priorities has been creating an environment where players can purchase products at normal retail prices through reliable channels." Earlier this month, Braverse officially launched as a partner on TCGPlayer, making it more accessible to fans than ever. Before that, many players struggled to find specific cards for reasonable prices. The studio has "also expanded availability through additional online retail channels, including Amazon, making Braverse more accessible than ever before." Finally, the Braverse team is hard at work on syncing up card expansion releases worldwide. "Simultaneous global releases have been one of our goals from the very beginning." Currently, NA gets its cards about a month after the Asian market, but the studio has plans to continue to shrink this time until it's nonexistent. "Collecting new cards is exciting," says Hyesung, "but one of the most special aspects of a TCG is when players around the world open the same set on the same day, experiment with the same metagame, and discover new strategies together." An Online Presence For An Offline TCG Experience The CookieRun: Braverse community has shown strong interest in collecting cards and playing against others online, similar to the Pokémon TCG Pocket. While the idea isn't entirely off the table, the team's "current focus is on helping more people discover the unique appeal of physical trading card games." The CookieRun team is also working hard on developing a Roblox TCG experience to help bring fans together. "Rather than simply recreating the physical card game on a screen," says Hyesung, "we're interested in creating an ecosystem where players who enjoy the tabletop game and players discovering CookieRun through digital platforms can naturally connect with one another." The Roblox world will only exist to supplement the offline TCG experience, which remains the studio's immediate focus. That said, Hyesung states that the journey may one day "naturally expand" to a digital TCG experience like the one fans are asking for. "Maybe one day 'Want to play a quick match online?' will become a common greeting among Braverse players as well." What's Next For The CookieRun Franchise? The trading card game isn't the IP's first foray into the physical world, and it certainly won't be its last. Though Hyesung stresses that "it's never about creating another product for the sake of creating one," she does note that the team is "actively exploring a variety of physical game concepts and offline experiences built around the CookieRun universe." This includes "board games and several other game-related projects," though the team isn't ready to share any more specifics. Of course, the team is also continuing to grow its offline Braverse physical experiences, "including merchandise, pop-up events, conventions, and community activities." Eventually, the team hopes to expand the CookieRun universe to different aspects of fans' lives, like "playing a board game at home, competing in a TCG event at a local card shop, visiting a pop-up store, or exploring a CookieRun world on Roblox." CookieRun: Braverse has seen immense success since its launch in North America. Over 43 million cards have been distributed to 20% of specialty card shops in the NA region, resulting in nearly $15 million USD in revenue. But in the end, Hyesung says it's not the numbers that make CookieRun's makers most proud. "It's seeing players who started by saying, 'I'll give it a try,' become community leaders who bring in friends, organize local tournaments, and teach new players how to play," says Hyesung. "At this point, it often feels less like we're growing the community and more like the community is growing CookieRun: Braverse alongside us." Systems Released April 2, 2013 ESRB t Developer(s) Devsisters Publisher(s) Devsisters Engine Unity Multiplayer Local Multiplayer