Trading Cards Are Booming Again, and Hasbro Is Bringing Some of Its Biggest Franchises Along for the Ride

Trading cards are having a moment again.

From longtime collectors returning to the hobby to a new generation discovering the excitement of opening a pack and finding something special inside, trading card collecting has once again become a major part of pop culture.

Now, Hasbro is getting in on the action.

Upper Deck has announced a new licensing agreement with Hasbro that will transform some of the company’s most recognizable properties into new trading card and game releases.

And this is not a small collection of franchises.

“Transformers,” “Power Rangers,” “G.I. Joe,” “M.A.S.K.” and “Jem and the Holograms” are among the properties included in the collaboration, bringing decades of characters, stories and nostalgia into the collecting space.

First up, naturally, are the Autobots and Decepticons.

With “The Transformers: The Movie” celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Upper Deck is marking the occasion with a new Transformers 40th Anniversary Special Edition trading card set arriving in September exclusively at Target.

The cards take inspiration from cinematic posters, bringing some of the franchise’s most familiar characters to life through designs that feel fitting for such a major anniversary.

Every box will contain the complete base set, but where would the fun of trading card collecting be without something to chase?

Collectors can also find Stellar System inserts featuring fan-favorite characters against galaxy-inspired backgrounds, special parallels and even autograph cards from Peter Cullen, the legendary voice behind Optimus Prime.

And Upper Deck is not stopping there.

Later this year, “The Transformers: The Movie” will receive another 40th-anniversary collection under Upper Deck’s Fleer brand.

That release will feature a 100-card base set built around memorable characters and moments from the animated movie, alongside several specialty inserts.

“From Screen to Page” cards will incorporate artwork inspired by the film’s 20th-anniversary IDW comic series, while “More Than Meets the Eye” lenticular cards will let collectors see characters transform between their robot and vehicle forms.

There will also be “Instruments of Destruction” 3D lenticular cards highlighting the Decepticons and other villains, plus autograph cards featuring select members of the movie’s voice cast.

For Transformers fans, that already gives collectors plenty to start hunting for.

But perhaps the most exciting part of this partnership is what comes next.

With Power Rangers, G.I. Joe, Jem and the Holograms, M.A.S.K. and other Hasbro properties included in the agreement, there is a massive library of characters that could eventually find their way into binders and collections.

Trading cards have always had a particular kind of magic to them. You never quite know what is waiting inside that next pack, and suddenly finding a favorite character—or that one elusive card you have been chasing—makes opening one an experience all its own.

As the trading card resurgence continues to build, Hasbro has decades of nostalgia and fan-favorite characters ready to join it.

Now the hunt begins.