Update []:
After it was rumoured a few weeks ago, McDonald’s has now made it official: Pokémon cards are returning to Happy Meals worldwide.
The new collaboration will launch in select regions next month, and will gradually expand its reach until it winds up in the UK and Ireland in February 2027. Here’s the full list of when it is coming to each region:
NOVEMBER 2026
Australia • Canada • Fiji • France • New Zealand • Spain • United StatesDECEMBER 2026
Austria • Azerbaijan • Bahrain • Belgium • Brunei • Bulgaria • Croatia • Cyprus • Czech Republic • Denmark • Egypt • Finland • Germany • Georgia • Greece • Hong Kong • Hungary • Indonesia • Malaysia • Malta • Mauritius • Moldova • Morocco • Netherlands • Norway • Oman • Pakistan • Poland • Portugal • Qatar • Romania • Saudi Arabia • Serbia • Singapore • Slovakia • Slovenia • South Africa • Sweden • Switzerland • Turkey • Ukraine • UAE • Vietnam
JANUARY 2027
Argentina • Brazil • Chile • Colombia • Costa Rica • Ecuador • El Salvador • Estonia • Guatemala • Honduras • Israel • Italy • Latvia • Lithuania • Mexico • Nicaragua • Panama • Paraguay • Peru • Philippines • Thailand • Uruguay • VenezuelaFEBRUARY 2027
Ireland • United Kingdom
The Happy Meals will come in three different boxes, featuring Pikachu, Umbreon and Torchic, and they’ll contain one of the particularly sweet box-shaped ‘mon toys found below:
Of course, each box also contains two cards from a selection of 15 (including seven holos). You can see the full range of them below:
As ever, the collaboration will only be sticking around for as long as stocks last.
Original Story: Brace yourselves, folks, because it looks like Pokémon cards will soon be returning to McDonald’s Happy Meals in the US, and that has spelt trouble in the past (thanks for the heads up, IGN).
As reported by PokéBeach, a new set of TCG tie-ins will be available from the Big M between 5th November and 9th December, with 15 cards included in the collection. As ever, the Happy Meal bonuses will consist of a four-card pack, containing three normal cards and one holo.
The McDonald’s collections usually only feature reprinted cards, though on the rare occasion that there has been something special in the promotion, things have a tendency to get messy.
In previous years, we’ve seen McDonald’s introducing Happy Meal buy limits and ending promotions early thanks to card scalpers making the whole experience a little bit worse for everyone. Just last year, the brand ended up selling out of Happy Meals in Japan thanks to a special Pikachu card included in the collection.
It’s currently unclear which cards will be included in the upcoming US offer (PokéBeach has a strong track record, but McDonald’s itself hasn’t officially revealed the promotion just yet), but let’s hope that if there is anything special inside, the scalpers can leave some fun for any young Poké fans looking forward to their meal (pfft, yeah right).
