After more than 33 years, the Jurassic Park franchise finds itself in a somewhat precarious position regarding its cinematic future. Although a sequel to the divisive Jurassic World Rebirth is in development, some fans are concerned the series could be approaching its "jump-the-shark" moment after former director Gareth Edwards expressed enthusiasm for an entire movie devoted to dinosaurs rampaging through a major city, inspired by the iconic San Diego sequence in The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
This has fueled further speculation about an "apocalyptic" direction for the franchise, including fan theories involving a deadly disease spreading between dinosaurs and humans and even worries about an inevitable dino/human mutant storyline. However, none of these ideas have been confirmed, and Edwards has since departed the sequel over creative differences, raising even more questions about its future.
Fortunately, fans won't have to wait for another blockbuster to experience something new, with Jurassic Park: When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth officially arriving this November (via X).
Jurassic Park: When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth officially arrives on November 20, 2026, introducing American fans to the franchise's first major trading card game through a brand-new English-language release.
Developed by South Korea's Young Cha Company in collaboration with Universal, Jurassic Park TCG originally launched in Korea in mid-2025, offering fans a competitive tabletop experience featuring their favorite prehistoric creatures. Similar in concept to games like Pokémon TCG and Magic: The Gathering, players build decks, deploy dinosaurs onto the battlefield, and use various abilities, resources, and strategies to defeat their opponents.
The game also has some impressive talent behind it, including Ryo Shinomoto, who previously worked on the One Piece and Dragon Ball Super trading card games. Despite initially being exclusive to South Korea, Jurassic Park TCG quickly garnered interest from international collectors/players, some of whom began importing Korean-language cards.
In a January 2026 interview, Young Cha CEO Lee Young-jae discussed the growing "overseas demand," noting that limited-edition cards were also reselling at impressive prices in Korea. That early success and international interest laid the groundwork for the game's long-awaited expansion into English markets, with its first major American release now arriving next month.
The centerpiece of the upcoming launch is When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth, officially releasing as the Starter Deck ST-01. The set includes 75 cards, consisting of 44 Dinosaur Cards, 16 Event Cards, three Character Cards, and 12 Area Cards. It also comes with a playmat and rulebook, allowing newcomers to hit the ground running without having to build everything from scratch.
The actual gameplay revolves around sending out dinosaurs, managing resources (akin to mana or energy cards), and attacking opponents using an array of different strategies based on your dino types, with players able to control up to five dinosaurs simultaneously. The decks will feature various iconic dinosaurs designed based on the original film and various spin-offs, including the iconic T-rex, velociraptors, spinosaurus, triceratops, etc.
Further, When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth isn't the only set releasing in the English-language launch, which includes three additional products:
The Outland Predator release features 101 base card types and 24 parallel variants, while Raptor Strike introduces another 57 base types and 11 parallels, giving players plenty of opportunities to expand their collections. Both starter decks are already listed for preorder through various American tabletop retailers, with some offering them for roughly $20 each. Distribution is being handled through GTS.
Although fans are a bit concerned over the future of the franchise's cinematic plans, the arrival of Jurassic Park TCG is another exciting opportunity for fans to immerse themselves in the legendary universe originally introduced in Michael Crichton's classic sci-fi adventure adaptation, potentially kicking off an entirely new collectible craze for the franchise.
