Hillhouse Capital steps in. A small card secures hundreds of millions in financing. Can "Flash Soul" reconstruct the card game track with game IPs?
A small card has unlocked hundreds of millions in financing.
On August 11, Shanghai Zhenyouqu Culture and Technology Co., Ltd.'s cultural and creative brand "ShiningSoul" (hereinafter referred to as "ShiningSoul") announced the completion of its first - round financing of hundreds of millions of RMB. The lead investor was Hillhouse Capital, followed by Banyan Capital and Cathay Capital. Light Source Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor.
According to public information, ShiningSoul was jointly founded by Yao Shuobin, the chairman of Yaoji Technology, and Sheng Chuan, a veteran in the card industry. Sheng Chuan serves as the company's CEO (Chief Executive Officer). The company was registered in March 2023, and the ShiningSoul brand was first exposed at the end of November of the same year.
In China, the card industry, which caters to the preferences of the younger generation and rides on the wave of derivative economies such as "good - for - nothing collectibles", is in its golden age of explosion. According to a report released by Great Wall Securities, the market size of pan - entertainment toys reached 101.8 billion yuan in 2024, and it is expected to maintain a compound growth rate of 15.8% from 2024 to 2029. Among them, trading cards are one of the important sub - categories in China's pan - entertainment toy industry. The market size of this sub - sector grew at a compound annual growth rate of 56.6% from 2019 to 2024.
Although ShiningSoul entered the market relatively late, its positioning is very precise. From the current card products, ShiningSoul focuses on game IPs (creative content or brands with commercial value). So, will gamers pay for the cards? Can game IPs make a splash in the TCG (Trading Card Game) track?
ShiningSoul Cards Enter the Game IP Market
Since its early days, ShiningSoul has successively launched card series in collaboration with major IPs such as the British Library, "Girls' Frontline: Neural Cloud", and "Identity V", indicating that it came prepared. It also shows the confidence that the experienced core team has in this new brand in the card industry.
Both of ShiningSoul's founders are "veterans" in the "card" field.
One of ShiningSoul's founders, Yao Shuobin, is currently the chairman of Yaoji Technology. Yaoji Technology is originally a leading enterprise in the playing - card field. In 2022, Yaoji Technology also began to layout in collectible cards such as sports star cards. The other founder, Sheng Chuan, is a long - time card industry practitioner.
Although it seems young, ShiningSoul, with its rich experience, quickly opened up the market with the "Moments in Time" series of cards based on the asymmetrical competitive mobile game "Identity V" under NetEase.
Whether a card can sell well depends on the influence of the IP on the one hand, and the final presentation effect of the physical card is also the key factor for consumers' choices.
A card enthusiast told a reporter from "National Business Daily" that when purchasing such products, her preference for the IP is a prerequisite. When it comes to the final decision to buy, she will pay attention to whether the card's craftsmanship is good - looking, whether the card art (the picture printed on the card or derivative) is newly drawn, and the quality and presentation effect of the final physical product.
Image source: ShiningSoul's official Weibo
ShiningSoul's "Identity V" series of cards hit the spot with players. The first round of cards in the online direct - sales store were sold out within 26 days of the release. In addition, after this successful debut, ShiningSoul frequently made appearances at offline events related to "Identity V". Currently, the "Moments in Time" series of the cooperation between "Identity V" and ShiningSoul has reached the "third basic edition", which is already the fifth card series of their cooperation.
According to the investors, "Identity V", "Genshin Impact - Genius Invokation TCG", and "Return to the Past: 1999" have become phenomenal hits, driving the company's exponential growth from 2024 to 2025.
Zhang Yi, the CEO and chief analyst of iiMedia Research, said in a WeChat interview with a reporter from "National Business Daily" that players are more willing to "pay for love" when it comes to cards. "Because the game itself has given players a deep sense of participation, interaction, and social connection. There is a deep emotional link between the game IP and players. As a physical extension of the game, cards materialize the game images and elements, so players are willing to pay."
Currently, well - known games such as "League of Legends", "Identity V", "Onmyoji", "Genshin Impact", "Return to the Past: 1999", and "Girls' Frontline: Neural Cloud" have collaborated with "ShiningSoul" to launch physical cards.
Pan Helin, a well - known economic scholar and a member of the Expert Committee on Information and Communication Economics of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, told the reporter in a WeChat interview: "The card - collecting game has always been very popular among primary school students. Nowadays, primary school students have more pocket money and stronger purchasing power, so the TCG game has naturally become a popular track. However, the core of this track is still the IP. Whoever controls the popular IP has a higher investment value, and the sustainability of the IP's popularity is also highly concerned."
Regarding this round of financing, Sheng Chuan, the CEO of ShiningSoul, said that after the financing, ShiningSoul will comprehensively accelerate the realization of its strategic blueprint. The company will invest more resources to establish deeper and more long - term strategic partnerships with top - tier IPs globally. At the same time, it will build a global network, accelerate the establishment of overseas teams and local operations, and establish direct - sales or in - depth cooperation channels covering core markets such as North America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
Can the Competitive Aspect of Cards Unlock a Larger Market?
Since its early days, ShiningSoul has successively launched card series in collaboration with major IPs such as the British Library, "Girls' Frontline: Neural Cloud", and "Identity V", indicating that it came prepared. It also shows the confidence that the experienced core team has in this new brand in the card industry.
The popularity and controversy of the card business are obvious to all. Last year, the crazy consumption of "My Little Pony" cards by primary school students in live - streaming rooms and offline became a social hot topic.
In the first half of this year, Karyu, a leading card company, updated its prospectus again after a year and is aiming for a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. According to the updated prospectus data, Karyu's financial data grew astonishingly in 2024, with its revenue increasing by 277.8% year - on - year and its adjusted net profit increasing by 378.16% year - on - year.
As one of the important derivative partners of "Ne Zha 2", Karyu has also become one of the biggest beneficiaries of the popularity of "Ne Zha 2". The first batch of 4.5 million character - pack cards of the "Ne Zha 2" cards jointly launched by the two parties were snapped up in a short time.
Behind the above phenomena, it can be seen that as derivatives with relatively lower production and selling prices, cards have a faster response speed and a wider audience. Moreover, some variety shows and TV dramas have also started to sell derivatives such as cards.
It is worth mentioning that card companies are gradually shifting their focus, avoiding the negative impacts caused by card players' pursuit of the collection value of cards, and starting to emphasize more on the competitive aspect of trading cards. In card battles, players need to purchase booster packs to obtain the cards they want, and each card plays a different role in the duel. Players formulate strategies and build corresponding card decks.
On August 1, ShiningSoul and Riot Games launched "Legends of Runeterra: League of Legends Trading Card Game" (hereinafter referred to as "Legends of Runeterra") in the Chinese mainland. On the first day of its release, "Legends of Runeterra" made its debut at the Shanghai ChinaJoy. Even in the noisy exhibition hall, there were many card enthusiasts sitting at tables having duels.
Image source: The official Weibo of Legends of Runeterra
Karyu also has competitive events such as the "Three Kingdoms Duel" and the "Karyu Cup Hero Duel". According to the data released in 2024, since 2019, Karyu's relevant events have held more than 3,000 competitions in more than 100 cities across the country, attracting more than 200,000 players. It has become one of the largest TCG competitive events in China.
In Zhang Yi's view, most games are characterized by competitiveness. Cards effectively transform competitiveness from the virtual world to the real world, forming a game format of building card decks and participating in offline and online competitive events. From a social perspective, games bring together a large number of players. As an extension of games, cards are an important medium for players to communicate and interact. Through card - swapping, collecting, and sharing, a unique social circle is formed, which can achieve social fission and drive more people to join.
The TCG card track, which combines collection, competition, and social interaction, has huge potential, attracting the influx of capital. In the long run, whether card companies can truly "master" the business behind these small cards still requires a balance between short - term explosive power and long - term sustainable development.
This article is from the WeChat public account "Consumer Stories". Author: Li Yutong. It is published by 36Kr with permission.