The Pokemon North America International Championships have become much more than a weekend for the best players in the world to chase a spot at Worlds. The 2026 NAIC took place in New Orleans from June 12–14, bringing Pokemon competitors and fans together near the end of the Championship Series season, but the event is already looking toward what comes next as The Pokemon Company prepares to move NAIC to Chicago.
GameRant participated in a group interview at this year's Pokemon NAIC with Chris Brown, Director of Global Esports and Events Producer for The Pokemon Company International. During the conversation, Brown discussed why Chicago gives NAIC room to grow, how Pokemon is balancing serious competition with family-friendly fan experiences, and why accessibility remains such a major part of the company's approach to competitive play.
The following transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Why Pokemon NAIC Is Moving to Chicago
Q: With Pokemon's footprint already big, with Gofest and the Fossil Museum, is the move to Chicago mainly floor space and capacity, or is there something about Chicago specifically that makes it really the place to be?
A: When we look at events, there are a lot of factors, and we look at airline access to that. New Orleans, by the way, has been fantastic for that. Chicago, just as good, maybe even better. Chicago is super accessible. Most places, major hubs around the world travel direct into Chicago. So that's a big part of this event. We have 48 countries and regions represented this weekend, for example, so having that accessibility is vital now for a show of this scale.
We look for things to do. Our fans, they come in for a competition, but what else is there for them to do? New Orleans, again, checks a ton of boxes. Chicago's very much the same, it's a world-class city. It's going to give our attendees so much to do beyond Pokemon, and we hope they come for the event and enjoy the show, compete and do their best, but at the end of the day, you need to get dinner somewhere. Chicago is a fantastic location that we think you could extend a vacation on either end of our event on.
We are also looking to grow. This venue, we had a 3-year deal, and I think I shared some of the growth metrics. We've been able to grow from when we moved to this venue for the first time 3 years ago to where we are now, we're up 150+%, in terms of what our attendance is. The shocking thing is we actually kind of reached our 3-year goal in 2 years. And so this year everything's sold out. We weren't really able to grow that event. It's going to be pretty flat year over year, not because the demand's not there. The demand is there.
We sold out a lot of our competitions in seconds, but we don't have the space. And it's not because this convention center doesn't have space. It's one of the largest convention centers in the world, really, especially for continuous space. But you have to get far enough out, book the halls, and the halls adjacent to us are booked by other clients. So, Chicago, for us, lets us grow the space, which, for us, we want to grow the competition. We also want to grow our fan programming.
So, everything we're doing that isn't for people that are competing, we want to continue to grow that. That's really where we've been limited for the last couple of years for this show. We've not been able to grow that fan programming because we've prioritized the competitive side and keeping that where it's at. Chicago checks all the boxes. Gives us growth for competitors, gives us growth for fans. It's a great vacation spot for families to attend, and it's extremely accessible for international guests.
Q: NAIC, next year, will come off of Worlds and XP. So, I'm curious if any of the sort of ideas that are going to be in play at Worlds and XP are going to be moved forward. Are there things that you're trying with Worlds and XP that will then become part of the IC identity?
A: We're always experimenting with events. We kind of go through that build, measure, learn loop, and, fortunately, we're able to test things at the ICs and bring them to Worlds and test things at Worlds and bring them to the ICs. I think the component that we've started testing at the international level that I think PXP is really going to break the most ground for is the exhibitor booth and the partner booth space.
If you were at EUIC, you may have seen for the first time we had this great Pokemon TCG Pocket booth. I'm not making any promises to what's at XP or anything, I'm just alluding to this concept of, these shows are so large now, this idea that there's booth space that our partners who are close to the brand can come in and activate and really meet the fan 1 to 1, it's a great experience for our partners. It's a great experience for our fans. So, I'm hoping that that's the next evolution of what we're able to offer at the IC level that isn't currently at this show.
Q: How do you balance creating a high-level competitive environment while still making the event welcoming for casual fans and families?
A: I can't ignore the history. For us, very fortunately, we've been running Pokemon for... we're a generational brand now. And that includes the World Championships, which TPCI first operated in 2004. So, the backbone of that event infrastructure starts from the competitive core, so we're fortunate in that we're grounded there, and then it really becomes a question of how we expand for the whole brand, for all fans, while staying true to what is important for our competitors.
In terms of balancing it, there's not a great answer, so much as we look at what's the right amount of growth for the tournament, and then if we're meeting that, what do we have that we can also be doing for the fan area? And this event is a good example where, we didn't shrink the competition to add more fan experience. And that was a dialogue. We looked at it. But first and foremost, it is the International Championships, it is to compete for Worlds as part of that overall narrative, so we wanted to make sure we served that audience first.
My hope is, resources allow, space allows, that we're able to create a fantastic experience for all of our fans, for all of our competitors, and there don't need to necessarily be trade-offs. Sometimes, when a space like this show happens, we have to focus on the competitor first just because that's the main goal of the event is a competition.
But our future planning is very much looking at how do we treat the two groups equally and provide support for fans, and when I say fans, I'm sort of thinking like people that don't really compete, they're not looking for the thrill of competition, for lack of a better word. But that can also be like, you're there, you're a parent with your kid and you just only have a couple of hours.
What is there to do on our show for 2, 3, 4 hours, and then you go home, and you had a great time, and you experienced Pokemon. So we do want to prioritize that. We do want to make that important going forward. It is important today, but we have this historical backbone that's a competition that we make sure to take care of.
Q: Do you anticipate Chicago being the home base for NAIC for the foreseeable future?
A: I will not make any comment after '27.
Pokemon Wants to Keep Competitive Play Accessible
Q: You really touched on the growth component with my first question. What has been like one of your favorite pieces of growth, whether it's the video games or new competitions, new formats. What have you enjoyed the most?
A: This is speaking more generally, not just to the show, because we're sort of seeing the growth across all the games, so I wouldn't say any one area has been like, oh my gosh, the highlight here is incredible. What I'd say is like, adding fan experience in general has been really interesting to figure out how to grow. So, we've got more carnival games here than we did last year. We're also adding that though across the circuit, so those are now coming up at a regional level.
Trying to just figure out what makes sense for somebody who, again, maybe isn't as engaged as a competitor would be, trying to figure out what's meaningful to them, what we should be adding. That's been, to me, the most surprising and also interesting thing for our team to work on. And we're still experimenting with it all the time.
We've not yet brought the programming stage to the NAIC event, but we have it at EUIC. And just trying to figure out, what do we put on that stage each hour is a challenge, one that has been rewarding in terms of sometimes we have things that really connect and others it's like, oh we want to learn from that we probably don't do that again. Fortunately, the fans that attend the event have been very accommodating and understanding as we try to figure out how to improve.
Probably more technical, just seeing how we can grow all of our systems. The logistics behind the event are insane. I forget who I was telling this to earlier, but we're deploying 1000 internet-connected stations, and we have under 48 hours to set that up, basically. That's an insane level of logistics, and we're doing that while we're also doing the Unite event that is 6 stations with 10 Nintendo Switches or mobile devices each, while we've got 64 stations that have 2 iPhones set up each while we're running 4 simultaneous streams where we're playing 5000 plus simultaneous TCG matches. Nowhere on the planet do these logistics exist. There's twice the number of people competing this weekend as the Winter Olympics has athletes. And we support them playing simultaneously, so the growth of just figuring out the staff, work structures, that's been super fascinating.
Q: This is a pivotal moment in terms of like 30th anniversary and going into Worlds. We've seen some of the stuff that's going to be revealed. How do you balance that idea of making it a significant moment for competitors this year but also making it a significant moment for the brand in its anniversary year?
A: That's been the hardest thing for us to juggle as a company is just. Fan fest and competition, and how do you position them. We made the decision early, in terms of planning PXP, we're going to try to position these two things equally. And you'll notice there are 2 websites. We doubled all of our work. That's been the approach, though, is we're doing our best for that show to balance a proper fan fest, everything that you should want for a fan, that you'd expect, I think we will have all of that. I don't want to reveal too much. If you're just there as a fan of competitive, all of those needs should still be serviced.
Q: Pokemon Champions is coming to mobile later this month. Will we ever see VGC competitions held on mobile devices or will cross-play be allowed?
A: We have more information coming later on the circuit. That's all I'll say.
Q: Every year, there are fans attending their first play. What do you hope they take away from that very first?
A: It kind of depends on where they are. I think, first of all, we have to think about our kids and their parents. Any parent that's coming with their kid, I want to make sure they've had a good time. If they're just coming, not to compete, but just to maybe do the Pikachu meet and greet, maybe they want to see Pokemon Center, maybe they want to go to the collect and trade. Whatever it is they're doing, we want to make sure that, ultimately, we're a brand that's about kids, we're a brand that's about families, and I want to make sure that that group, what are we doing for them? And there are little things we do, like hand out booster packs at random if we see a kid. There are opportunities to make sure, light touches that ensure they have a good time.
The competitor side is a little bit different. Most people's first event, competing is probably not the show. The reality is, on the competition side, if this is your first show, you're probably not winning. We do our best when it comes to the competitive side, though, try to nurture the spirit of the game, which is winning and losing with grace. We want the players to shake hands, we want people to respect each other when it comes to the competition, but we cannot guarantee that somebody wins and, actually, I'd say even the opposite. Everyone this weekend, except for maybe one or two people, will lose at some point.
So, it's really important that, for new attendees, if this were their first tournament, they need to understand both sides of that. Winning and losing in a way that shows good sportsmanship between each other. And that may not always be the most fun. For some people, losing is never fun. So, I can't guarantee what that experience is. If this is your first tournament and you 03 dropped in the TCG, I hope you had a great time. I hope you made 3 friends. And I hope you take losing as a learning experience.
Q: As you reflect on these 3 years in New Orleans, are there particular moments or things that you have evolved over those 3 years that you are proud of, that you look back on and say, I'm so glad we moved forward with this, and then how those maybe would influence ICs and Worlds moving forward.
A: Behind the scenes, we've really grown the overall company support for this event. There are more of us coming together, the staffing structures have all evolved, the show is a lot smoother than it was the first time we were here in New Orleans. So, operationally, we've made improvements every year, and it's getting more refined. For an event organizer, the best thing you can do is hold the same show in the same location at roughly the same time. That's the organizer's dream. We move Worlds around. Let me tell you, that's hard. That's really, really hard to do.
So, I'd say just very, very proud of how the organization, and that's not just TPCI, but all the partner companies that come together to put the show on, everyone's got to work together. We've got fantastic project management now across the whole show, and I'd say that 3 years ago, we did our best. We are 3 years more learning at being able to execute this show well, and I think attendees are maybe not even realizing it's happening, but we were joking earlier like it's been a smooth show so far. So, that's probably one of the big ones.
More publicly, I would say, and we're still learning, but I'd kind of point to the stage and the ceremonies. 4 years ago, we didn't have an opening ceremony at all. Then we came to New Orleans, and we were like, well, what do we do to add that extra engagement to share that local culture back to the fans, both here in person but also at home. So, we've experimented with the ceremonies, that's been a lot of learning there.
The stage has also evolved each year, so how we deploy the LEDs, how much LED there is, the lighting grid. So, there's been a huge evolution if you look at the stage 3 or 4 years ago to what it is today. But not just looking at it, what we're doing with it, because those LEDs, all programmable. So, like what are the cues we hit when something happens to make it engaging for people that are in the audience? Is there something that bleeds through to people that are watching at home?
We've had evolution in a few other areas. Collect and Trade, we rolled out for the first time here and that's been a big testing experience and getting that more refined each year. Pin trading, also new and rolled out in the last couple of years, which is getting stronger each year.
Registration queue management is another one that, if I look back 3 years ago to where we are now, it's so much smoother now. But New Orleans was special in that we could add airport badge pickup. I don't know the final number, but it was over 2000 people had picked up their badge at the airport by Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Which, those are 2000 people that aren't coming through and queuing and trying to get that stuff today, so that's, that's been big.
Q: Do you anticipate more people than usual to dip their toes into the VGC side of things because of the accessibility of Pokemon Champions? And if so, how will you facilitate that growth?
A: Yes, we anticipate that. One, Champions on Switch 2 or Switch has been huge already. We sold this show out, so the demand's been incredible. The viewership growth has been huge too. Mobile, obviously, is just going to make that even more impactful, reach more fans, be more accessible.
In terms of what we're going to do in the future, we always try to project where the growth boundary is. There are logistical challenges with VGC specifically because of the networking, so we are trying to figure out, if there is some upper bound of what we can physically do, then what do we do with that? Do we prioritize registration? A lot of systems eventually evolve into these layers of qualification.
We're trying to avoid that if we can, because those layers of qualifications end up creating accessibility windows. So it's like, oh I can only get into this at this time. If I miss this window, I have to wait, in traditional sports, that's often the whole year. I'm trying to avoid that if we can, so at the moment we don't have a great plan, a perfect plan. We don't know necessarily where the demand line's going to be.
We do plan to keep growing the size of the events, and at some point, though, if there's a logistical challenge, we'll attack it. We're not going to deploy a 4000-person network. It's just not going to happen. 2000 though? Yeah, we can get to 2000. We've proved we can do 1600 at UIC this year. So, somewhere between there we have to then figure out what else do we do for our qualification system to make it work. It's going to grow, and our job is to try to support the community.
Q: Could you describe the qualification systems?
A: We are an open tour, basically, so any one of our events other than Worlds, anyone can compete in without any sort of prerequisite other than they're in good standing, and they have a deck, or they have the equipment they need to participate. Most other qualification systems add layers. So, you want to compete at this layer, you need to qualify at this prior layer. And a lot of that's due to scale, so you want to maybe keep an event small. Well, to keep that small, I need to pre-qualify people. So, that's one approach to creating a system.
I think we benefit from a fantastic community that, in particular, is international, so our regional championships, even now, are averaging nearly 30 countries per event, and that's because we're an open circuit. At some point, does it become logistically impossible to run the event, and then you have to basically look at, do you create something that precedes that. Or we did this many, many years ago, over a decade ago for US nationals back when that was an event—we said you need to have like 5 play points, which are just participation points, if you want to register.
So, it could be as simple as something like that. I'm speculating right now. I'm not saying we're going to do this or this or this, but I will say, philosophically, the shows, at the size we are, we're seeing so much benefit for the community, and we don't want to lose that, but we don't want to lose the accessibility that we have. So, as much as we can, we want to try to be the most accessible eSport in the world.
Q: As you're talking about accessibility, there are a lot of people who are intimidated by card games. What do you think makes the Pokemon TCG approachable compared to what many people expect when they hear the phrase "competitive card game"?
A: I think we've got a lot going for the card game. I don't want to speak to others, but what we do really well, I think the first is we are considered the most accessible in terms of getting the cards you need for a competitive tournament. It's very approachable, and we create products too that give you a good base to then build and iterate a competitive deck from. So, the first thing is, for us, just building those decks is not a huge barrier to entry.
We also have things like TCG Live, which is extremely accessible. You can download it right now. It has tons of things that you can just immediately open up some booster packs and start making a deck. It also gives you preconstructed decks that it gives you that are actually competitive viable from your first day. So, at the very top of that funnel, we are the easiest TCG to get into. Easiest to make a deck for, easiest to play. So, that's one big strength.
Then, when it comes to our tournaments, we're the only group that is running 3 age divisions. Again, we're a family brand. We always think about kids. We want everyone to be a trainer. We want all kids to be trainers. The fact that we're actually supporting that in a way that a junior division—10, 11, 12 years old—you can be a world champion. You don't need to wait until you're an adult to become the world champion. You can do that as an 11-year-old, as a 10-year-old. So, that's a huge strength.
Finally, I'd say the backbone of our whole program, Pokemon leagues, I think we're in over 6 or 7,000 stores now globally, running local community Pokemon leagues, which then lead to league cups, league challenges, that's critical. Having that local community, building that local community, that makes us accessible. It makes it so that you don't have to get on a plane and fly to a regional to have your first experience. You have it in the store, in your hometown, maybe even with people you already know, hopefully your friends, getting you into the game.
The last thing I'd say is that we use the core of our premier events, the regional championships, internationals, worlds, the broadcast component, and how we're able to present the game in a way that no one else can really do right now. It's a physical card game that has all the advantages of presenting information digitally so you can follow them, and those become ways to learn the game, learn the meta, learn how to play a deck so that you can jump in at any time.
So, I downloaded TCG Live, and I got my first few booster packs. I built a deck in TCG Live, and I'm watching a YouTube video of how somebody piloted the latest big deck, and you can do all of that in a day. And it's super legible and what you're learning to do, it's very accessible, and if you're inspired from all of that, there's probably a local community within 10 minutes of you that you can join and play that weekend and meet new people.
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