JAF Develops Car-Themed Trading Card Game 'DRIVE CARD GAME' for 2027 Release
JAF is entering a domestic card game market that reached 319.7 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 2025, up 11.7 percent year over year, using the format as a new entry point to reach younger generations.
Key Facts
- JAF announced development of DRIVE CARD GAME, a car-themed trading card game, on September 2, 2026.
- DRIVE CARD GAME is scheduled for release in early summer 2027.
- Next Play, the company behind ONE PIECE CARD GAME, handles rule design and card effect and status adjustment for DRIVE CARD GAME.
- JAF had roughly 20 million members as of the end of March 2026.
- The domestic card game market reached 319.7 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 2025, up 11.7 percent year over year, according to Bandai Namco Group's Integrated Report 2025.
Reporting from 2 sources: KAI-YOU, GameBusiness.jp.
JAF, the Japan Automobile Federation, announced on September 2 that it has begun development of DRIVE CARD GAME, a trading card game themed around automobiles. The game is being developed with cooperation from multiple car manufacturers and is scheduled for release in early summer 2027. The card game aims to let players collect cards and battle while learning about the appeal and characteristics of various cars. JAF says the project is meant to convey the appeal of cars to a wide range of generations, including younger people, and to create new car and motorsport fans. Rule design and adjustment of card effects and statuses are handled by Next Play, the company behind ONE PIECE CARD GAME. Next Play representative Ryo Shinomoto reported the cooperation on his X account. Participating manufacturers, specific car models, and the game system have not yet been revealed. JAF, a membership organization for automobile users with roughly 20 million members as of the end of March 2026, says profits from the game are intended for social contribution activities such as disaster support by the JAF Road Service Special Support Team. The game name and logo are currently pending trademark registration. Details on rules, cards, and sales methods will be announced on the official site and official X.
JAF brings two assets to the project: its network as an automobile user organization and its experience as the governing body for four-wheel motorsport in Japan. The federation says manufacturers are cooperating across company boundaries, though it has not named which makers or which car models will appear.
The domestic card game market reached 319.7 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 2025, up 11.7 percent from the prior year, according to Bandai Namco Group's Integrated Report 2025. JAF is entering that market with a format it describes as a new entry point for people who have fewer chances to touch or experience cars directly.
Next Play, the company handling rule design and card effect and status adjustment, is best known for ONE PIECE CARD GAME. Its representative, Ryo Shinomoto, reported the cooperation on his X account. The game name and logo are currently pending trademark registration, and JAF says profits from the game are intended for social contribution work such as disaster support by the JAF Road Service Special Support Team.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 2 cited sources below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.