The Pokemon McDonald's Happy Meal returns to participating McDonald’s restaurants nationwide starting Nov. 10, bringing back 15 collectible toys and 15 trading cards. Joseph Green said the rollout starts Nov. 10 and pairs the meal with a collectible set that runs while supplies last.
Joseph Green on 15 cards
15 collectible toys and 15 collectible trading cards anchor the promotion, with two randomized cards inside each meal drawn from a specialized 15-card McDonald’s reprint set. Seven of those cards are foils, which gives the promotion a built-in chase element without changing the number of cards a customer gets in a single Happy Meal.
2018 was the last time customers got a genuine 3D collectible toy with playable cards, so this return is structured as more than a simple reissue. The mini-boxes are designed to resemble iconic McDonald’s cartons shaped around fan-favorite Pokémon, which keeps the packaging itself in the collecting lane instead of treating it as throwaway cardboard.
QR game on Happy Meal boxes
Fans can scan the QR code on their Happy Meal box to access a digital game that sends players searching for the 15 Pokemon Happy Meal toys hidden around a virtual classroom and playground. That turns the promotion into a second layer of collecting: one physical chase at the counter, one digital chase on the screen.
For buyers, the practical move is simple. If you want the cards or toys, the window is narrow and the supply is limited at participating McDonald’s restaurants, so waiting is the easiest way to miss both the physical set and the digital tie-in.
November, December, January
The rollout starts in November 2026 in Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Spain, and USA, then continues in December 2026 across Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Brunei, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Malaysia, Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE, and Vietnam.
January 2027 adds Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Thailand, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The staggered schedule makes the promotion a multi-country rollout rather than a single-day drop, with the collection mechanics doing the heavy lifting as the dates move from market to market.
