EPID Games announced that it will release “Trickcal Cartoon World,” a short anime series based on its collectible RPG Trickcal: Revive, starting on September 28.
Trickcal: Revive is a collectible RPG that drew attention for its distinctive cute art style featuring squishy-cheeked characters and its knack for catching internet memes. It initially gained word-of-mouth popularity in gaming communities through self-referential memes—such as turning CEO Han Jeong-hyun’s history of taking out stock-collateralized loans to fund development into a running joke about a “house deed game,” or poking fun at its own painful past of shutting down shortly after its initial 2021 launch before relaunching later through in-game event stories.
Since then, the game has earned a steady following thanks to fully voiced story updates every two weeks and cute, quirky characters. In particular, its popularity recently exploded globally as memes surrounding the character Speaki—fueled by her cute yet raw dialogue and antics—went viral. Powered by this momentum, the studio recorded 46.8 billion won in revenue and 8.9 billion won in operating profit as of 2025, completely clearing its accumulated deficit and securing retained earnings while continuing efforts to expand the IP, including the development of a new title, Trickcal Fatima.
On September 18, EPID Games released a pre-recorded broadcast for the game’s 3rd anniversary, addressing topics such as QoL game improvements, starting development on a PC client, and hosting offline events in regional areas. CEO Han Jeong-hyun also addressed the anime adaptation, calling it a “long-cherished project” and revealing they were collaborating with OTT platforms. EPID Games subsequently announced that a 6-episode anime is being produced in collaboration with ANIPLUS and Laftel. While specific details were not disclosed, Butter and Komi (CV: Kang Sae-bom), who spearheaded many of the game’s everyday comedic episodes, will appear. Given the short format, the anime is expected to unfold as a spin-off set in the daily life of Elias, similar to short animations from other collectible games.
Meanwhile, to commemorate the release of Trickcal Cartoon World, EPID Games will hold a short anime viewing verification event from September 28 to October 18. Players can participate by taking a screenshot of a funny moment while watching the anime and posting it on the verification board. Drawn winners will receive prizes such as monitor-mounted acrylic stands, Apostle layer keychains, and favorite roulette keychains. In addition, from September 28 to October 31, another verification event will take place where participants can take photos with the Apostles covering the wall of Hapjeong ANIPLUS or film themselves watching the short anime on-site and post it on social media to enter a giveaway. Prizes for this event include one of three Head-bonked Korotto figures featuring Heidi, Vivi, or Butter. Further instructions for the ANIPLUS event will be sent via direct message from the official ANIPLUS account.
Detailed information about Trickcal and the short anime events can be found on the official Lounge.
