Essen, Germany, 26 October 2026. From 22 to 25 October, Cube Golem had its own stand at SPIEL Essen, booth C-400 in Hall 5. The world’s largest fair for board and card games set new records this year: around 230,000 visitors, 997 exhibitors from 53 countries and 2,012 new releases, according to the organisers.
For us, SPIEL was also a reunion. Teams from across our hubs met in one place, talked to retailers, publishers and partners face to face, and compared notes on what works in their markets. Four days like these are hard to replace with any number of calls.
Azuki TCG. Essen was where Cube Golem launched the Azuki TCG. Visitors played demo games at our tables and took home an exclusive SPIEL promo card.
Azuki is still a young name in Europe, and for many visitors our tables were their first contact with the game. That is what we wanted to offer: a stage at the world’s largest games fair where the game could be played, not just shown, and where retailers could see for themselves how players react to it.
Who is behind it? The game is developed by Azuki Labs, with a team that includes veterans from Pokémon, Riot and Blizzard, according to CardGamer. It grew out of AZUKI, a manga by Arnold Tsang, former Character Art Director of Overwatch, which is free to read online. A new chapter appears every month, and the places in the story, the Alley, the Garden and the Gates, are exactly where players fight at the table. The first set, Gates Awakened, launched in June 2026, after presales of more than USD 1 million.
Release on 20 November. The second set, Fractured Domains, releases on 20 November in Europe, North America and Latin America at the same time, with 163 cards and the game’s first dual-element leader. Our hubs supply it to retailers across Europe, together with organised play in store, from weekly Azuki Locals to release events. Qualifying stores receive a free release kit for a launch event in release week, from 20 to 26 November, with promo cards players can only get there. On 15 January 2027, the limited 1st Anniversary Premium Collection follows.
Working with the Azuki team on this launch was a real pleasure, and we look forward to growing the game in Europe together.
Mechs vs. Minions. The same week, Incredible Dream announced the return of Mechs vs. Minions, with Cube Golem as partner for the English edition in continental Europe and for the German edition. Visitors to our stand got an early look at the game ahead of the German edition in 2027. Read the announcement.
duo idee+spiel. One meeting stands out. On 22 October, Reinhard Sigel, Managing Director of Cube Golem, welcomed Efthimios Sidiropoulos, Head of Category Management at duo, at our stand. The occasion: Cube Golem becomes a contract supplier for trading card games to duo idee+spiel. From January 2027, member retailers order from Cube Golem and settle through duo’s central invoicing.
What comes next. Not everything we discussed in Essen is ready to be shared. What we can say: several conversations from these four days are now turning into plans for 2027, and we expect to announce new partnerships in the course of the year. 2027 will be a big year for the group.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by. Next stop for the group: Spielwarenmesse Nuremberg, 2 to 6 February 2027.
