Naruto's First Digital Card Game Comes From a Small Studio That Refused to Be Ghosted
A five-year journey, a month of silence from one of Japan's biggest broadcasters, and a founder who booked a hotel across the street to force a conversation — that is how a small indie studio landed the rights to make Naruto's first-ever digital card game.
Sekai, a Paris-and-Tokyo-based startup founded in 2021 as an anime-focused company, launched "Naruto Ninja Cards" worldwide on 20 August 2026. The app is an officially licensed, free-to-play card-collecting game — the only free-to-play Naruto title on the App Store and Google Play, according to Variety. It is also available on Android and Windows, per its Google Play listing. The game's official website describes it as featuring hand-drawn and exclusive artworks, with a web platform live for PC collectors.
Behind the launch is a deal that nearly fell apart. Sekai co-founder and CEO Samy Therain had his first sit-down with TV Tokyo's team in January 2022. TV Tokyo holds the rights to the Naruto franchise — created by Masashi Kishimoto — and eventually invested in Sekai, marking the broadcaster's first investment in a Western company since it backed Crunchyroll. But during negotiations, TV Tokyo went silent for about a month. Industry insiders told Therain the deal would likely "fade away." Instead, he flew back to Japan and booked a hotel directly across the street from TV Tokyo's office. The gamble worked. Sekai became the first foreign studio ever licensed by the Naruto IP owners to build a Naruto app, after spending a year and a half in Japan.
The app's early traction suggests the bet was worth it. Since a soft launch on 5 February 2026, "Naruto Ninja Cards" has recorded 500,000 downloads. Sekai says 93% of those came from organic search — meaning users found the app on their own, not through paid advertising.
Sekai's investor list reads like a crossover episode. Backers include Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda, NBA All-Star Rudy Gobert, Skycatcher, Makers Fund, and Alexis Ohanian's fund 776. TV Tokyo's involvement gave the studio not just funding but credibility with Japanese rights holders — a hurdle that has stopped many Western companies from securing anime licences.
Hiroaki Saiki, TV Tokyo's head of global distribution, partnered with Therain on the deal. Sekai plans to use the momentum to expand beyond "Naruto Ninja Cards" into additional anime-inspired AAA games — large-budget titles built by big teams — and live events.
For Naruto fans, the digital app is one half of a broader card-game push. The franchise is also preparing a physical trading card game, "NARUTO CARD GAME," which made its public debut at Gen Con 2026 in Indianapolis from 30 July to 2 August, offering free tutorials and participant gifts. A first-look trailer showcasing the physical game's designs and mechanics was released on 29 July, per Crunchyroll News. The physical game is slated for a simultaneous global release in Summer 2027, according to GameSpot and the official Naruto website.
That means Naruto is building two card-game tracks at once: a digital app you can play right now, and a physical card game arriving next year. One comes from a startup that refused to take silence for an answer. The other comes from the franchise itself. Both are betting that fans want to collect Naruto cards however they can.
