The New “Cyberpunk” Trading Card Game Offers a Bright Glimpse of the Dark Future

WeirdCo

Putting aside the Big Three—Magic: The Gathering, Pokémon, and Yu-Gi-Oh!—trading card games (TCGs) have always been a risky proposition for publishers and consumers alike. For the publisher, any new game must draw enough of a player base away from whatever TCGs they’re currently playing, because each player has only so much money and time to spend on following games. And the more time and money a consumer invests in a TCG, the more of a downer it’s going to be if and when the TCG is canceled. For collectors, this depends largely on their purpose in collecting, but players like me need enough cards in the deckbuilding pool and friends who want to continue playing a “dead” TCG.

Nevertheless, the recent success of TCGs like Disney Lorcana, One Piece, and Riftbound has created an environment where both publishers and players are more willing to take the risk. The next competitor to throw its hat into the ring is WeirdCo, and the hat in question is the Cyberpunk Trading Card Game, an official project currently seeking funds on Kickstarter. The initial set is focused on CD Projekt Red’s take on the Cyberpunk universe, spanning the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners anime series and, of course, Cyberpunk 2077, the video game that exploded the franchise (in a good way, now that the dust has settled). Cyberpunk TCG is a PvP experience and should not be confused with Cyberpunk Legends, an upcoming cooperative card game by Night Crew Games.

An example of the game’s card art. WeirdCo

If you could judge a game by its cover, this TCG would be a slam dunk for fans of the Cyberpunk franchise and the wider genre, with vibrant card frames, evocative artwork depicting the dazzling yet terrifying future, and keyword icons that pop. Frankly, I can’t wait to see what they look like all foiled out. But even the best-looking game on the market needs to offer both collectability and quality gameplay if it’s going to withstand the test of time. For its part, WeirdCo is ensuring that retailers and other backers will have early access to the product in the interest of fostering a community months ahead of the game’s official release. Also, by introducing the game via Kickstarter, the publisher can get an accurate read on the size of its audience and produce quantities proportional to that audience. This prioritizes players, who need access to the cards in order to participate, whereas collectors are generally more motivated by the scarcity of the collectible so long as that scarcity doesn’t jeopardize the success of the game.

Comparing this to existing TCGs on the market, I see heavy Star Wars: Unlimited and Lorcana influences, but with just enough distinction beyond the Cyberpunk motif that it’s worthy of being its own game. I don’t say this as a criticism—familiar gameplay makes it easier for a player’s knowledge of one game to piggyback onto another. One element I find uniquely fascinating about the Cyberpunk TCG is that apart from the deck, the one additional component each player must bring to the table is a full set of polyhedral dice as used in Dungeons & Dragons. These dice represent gigs for your crew and roll into play on each player’s turn, with the objective being to amass six gigs through a combination of protecting your own and stealing them from opponents through unblocked attacks. The value rolled for the gig determines how much street cred it contributes to the player in possession of it, and many effects care about how much street cred your team has accrued. Note that more-sided dice can be rolled, but the better the roll, the more dangerous should it fall into enemy hands. Like Star Wars: Unlimited, units exist with the Blocker keyword, which can force the attacker to go after the Blocker instead of the objective gigs. However, unlike the similar Sentinel keyword in that game, the defender has the option of letting an attack go through even if they could block it. As in Lorcana, only spent (sideways) units may be attacked unless they have this keyword.

Cyberpunk’s deckbuilding restrictions are unique. Play is built around your three Legends—iconic outlaws and corporate bootlickers from the franchise, set apart from the main deck—which offer guidance on how the deck should play, much like the Leaders and Bases of Star Wars: Unlimited. So far, most Legends revealed offer 2 RAM of their respective color. Cards included in the deck must fit into this maximum. So, a deck split between blue, green, and red Legends will allow any cards in those colors that require 2 RAM or less, while a deck focused on a single color will allow cards of that color for 6 RAM or less. This means that to play the strongest cards of a color, the player sacrifices flexibility for power. One criticism about the colors: There does not seem to be any iconography to tell what color each card is beyond the color of the frame itself, so players with red-green color blindness may struggle to distinguish red cards from green cards. I see plenty of empty real estate along the borders of the cards that have been revealed where such an icon or text could be implemented, so I hope to see this issue corrected before release.

So far, the Cyberpunk TCG has attracted a huge following, presumably owing to the popularity of the Cyberpunk universe, its status as a gaming franchise, and—let’s face it—the aforementioned beauty of the cards. If you’re interested in backing this game, I encourage reaching out to your friendly local game store and letting them know. The more retailers that pick this up during the crowdfunding campaign, the more of a chance the game has to pick up early steam.

The Cyberpunk Trading Card Game Kickstarter campaign launches March 17, 2026.