Upper Deck sues Ravensburger over Disney Lorcana TCG

The German puzzle-maker is facing allegations that its brand manager stole the design and gameplay of a product that was in development and repackaged it as Lorcana.

June 8, 2023

The release of Ravensburger’s latest trading card game, Disney Lorcana, is now up in the air, with news breaking that the company is allegedly facing a lawsuit related to the game’s development.

San Diego-based collectibles company Upper Deck says it‘s suing the German puzzle-maker and the game’s designer, Ryan Miller, for stealing its IP. For its part, Ravensburger says that it has not yet been served with a lawsuit, and is not commenting at this time.

Disney Lorcana is Ravensburger’s first entry in the trading card game market. The company has already mapped out long-term plans to grow the Disney-branded TCG after its first booster set and decks hit retail in August.

Upper Deck alleges in its complaint that Miller, who is a brand manager at Ravensburger North America, stole and repackaged one of its TCGs, Rush of Ikorr, as Lorcana. In 2019, Upper Deck hired Miller to work as the lead game designer on Ikorr, developing the basic mechanics and demonstration decks to showcase its gameplay, according to the document. Miller later terminated his contract with Upper Deck and began working at Ravensburger in 2020.

Upper Deck claims that Rush of Ikorr is still actively in development, and it’s seeking damages from Ravensburger. The company began working on the game in 2018 and has invested significant time and resources, said president Jason Masherah in a release. Upper Deck is also seeking a court order to stop the release of Lorcana.

Ravensburger told Kidscreen in an email that as of press time, it “has not been served with a complaint, and thus cannot speculate on potential legal matters,” adding that “we stand behind the integrity of our team and the originality of our products.”

Lorcana is scheduled to roll out initially to hobby shops in August and then mass retailers worldwide in September. After that, Ravensburger has plans to support the game with organized tournaments and four booster-pack expansions per year. In Lorcana, players battle using cards of popular Disney characters including Mickey, Simba and Elsa.