The Pokémon Company accidentally revealed next year's promotional Pokémon trading cards for its McDonald's Happy Meal collaboration, as reported by Polygon. The mix-up occurred when promotional assets for the 2027 event, marked with "M27," were mistakenly published alongside the announcement for the current November promotion.
Fans quickly noticed the discrepancy, and the page was subsequently updated with the correct assets. However, images of the 2027 card set had already circulated within the community. The revealed cards for the 2027 promotion include Bulbasaur, Rowlet, Sprigatito, Charmander, Torchic, Squirtle, Piplup, Pikachu, Raichu, Clefairy, Slowpoke, Marill, Gengar, Eevee, and Snorlax.
Promotional collaborations between McDonald's and Pokémon have historically led to high demand, with collectors often purchasing numerous Happy Meals to obtain all the limited-edition cards. This can result in significant food waste and a secondary market where scalpers resell the cards at inflated prices. Previous instances have seen intense fan activity, but McDonald's has not implemented measures like the facial recognition technology used in Japan's Pokémon Centers to limit purchases for these annual events.