Upcoming Releases: January 2024

Happy New Year from everyone at Certified Guaranty Company® (CGC®)! With the new year comes a bunch of brand-new pop culture releases, including some heavy hitters in the card and video game industries. Here’s what we can expect from the first month of 2024:

Upcoming Comic Releases

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 — January 10

Spider-Man becomes a family man in this all-new adventure!

In 2000, Marvel Comics re-introduced several of its classic heroes in a separate universe updated for modern audiences, known as the Ultimate Universe. One of the first titles launched under this new imprint was Ultimate Spider-Man #1, following a young Peter Parker. The series continued until Marvel killed off Peter Parker in 2011 to introduce a new Spider-Man — Miles Morales — in Ultimate Fallout #4. The Ultimate Universe was later destroyed in the 2015 “Secret Wars” event. However, Miles Morales survived by going to the Marvel-616 universe.

In January 2024, Marvel will revive the Ultimate line with titles such as Ultimate Spider-Man #1. Instead of a young Peter Parker, as they did before, this new series will focus on an older Peter Parker who is married with children.

Look forward to Peter Parker’s re-introduction in Ultimate Spider-Man #1, releasing on January 10!

Other notable comics releasing in January 2024 include:

• Spider-Man 2099 #1 – January 3
• Superman #10 – January 16
• Jackpot #1 – January 17
• Star Wars: Thrawn – Alliance #1 – January 24

Upcoming Card Releases

TCG: Pokémon Scarlet & Violet: Paldean Fates

Shiny Pokémon make a triumphant return in the newest Scarlet & Violet set!

Ever since the release of Sun & Moon: Hidden Fates in 2019, The Pokémon Company has given fans the opportunity to collect shiny Pokémon cards — cards featuring Pokémon in their alternate “shiny” colors — at least once per TCG series. Sword & Shield had Shining Fates in 2021, and now Scarlet & Violet finally gets its turn with Paldean Fates!

Paldean Fates will feature more than 240 cards, including over 100 shiny Pokémon, brand new Pokémon ex cards and dozens of full arts, hyper rare cards and more! Several favorite Pokémon return in their shiny forms, including Pikachu, Tinkaton, Ceruledge and Dondozo. Take control of the battlefield with titans such as Ancient Great Tusk ex and Future Iron Treads ex, and show off the true power of shiny Pokémon with shiny Tera Charizard, Forretress and Espathra ex!

Collect ’em all when Paldean Fates releases on January 26!

Other notable TCG and non-sports cards releasing in January 2024 include:

• 2023 Marvel Fleer Ultra Midnight Sons – January 10
• Magic: The Gathering – Ravnica Remastered – January 12
• Yu-Gi-Oh!: Maze of Millennia – January 18
• UniVersus Challenge Series: Cowboy Bebop & Trigun Stampede – January 19
• Weiss Schwarz: Spy x Family – January 26

Sports Cards: Donruss Basketball 2023-24

Experience an annual favorite with the release of Donruss Basketball 2023-24, coming late this month!

Donruss’ annual basketball set is back with another high-end checklist featuring up-and-coming rookies and some of the sport’s most memorable veterans. This newest set offers collectors plenty of special cards to collect, including on-card autographs, several insert sets, exclusive parallels and more.

Collectors who purchase hobby boxes will get 10 packs per box with 30 cards each. Hobby boxes will guarantee one autograph card and an average of 60 total inserts and parallels. As usual, parallels come in a wide range of varieties, with many of them having limited copies available while others are one-of-a-kind rarities. Rookie players have their own Rated Rookie subset, with Rated Rookie Signatures adding an autograph level for certain cards.

Donruss Basketball 2023-24 hits the court on January 24, 2024.

Other notable sports cards releasing in January 2024 include:

• 2023 Panini Prizm Football – January 3
• 2023 Bowman’s Best Baseball – January 17
• 2023 Panini Absolute Football – January 17
• 2023-24 Panini Origins Basketball – January 31
• 2023-24 Panini Prizm Premier League Soccer – January 31

Upcoming Video Game Releases

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth – January 26

Follow the stories of two longtime Like a Dragon protagonists in this latest series installment!

The Yakuza video game series has been a favorite for action-adventure fans ever since the first game’s release in 2005. The series followed protagonist Kazuma Kiryu — a reformed member of the yakuza trying to lead a semi-normal life — until the franchise was rebranded in English from Yakuza to Like a Dragon in 2022. Starting with Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2022), the series now focuses on Ichiban Kasuga, a low-ranking yakuza who goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Both protagonists are well-liked among fans of the Yakuza / Like a Dragon franchise, though many fans have wondered about Kiryu’s fate and future.

Now, series veterans are getting answers in the form of a dual-protagonist story. Kazuma Kiryu returns alongside Ichiban Kasuga in Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The game takes place in Hawaii, with Kasuga and Kiryu teaming up to help the former reunite with his mother. Meanwhile, Kiryu struggles to come to terms with a sudden cancer diagnosis and learns to survive with his new condition. Characters from across the entire Yakuza / Like a Dragon series have been confirmed to make appearances in this newest installment as well, hinting at what could be the end of Kiryu’s role in the series.

Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth releases for PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and PC on January 26!

Other notable video games releasing in January 2024 include:

• Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown – January 18
• The Last of Us Part 2: Remastered – January 19
• Another Code Recollection – January 19
• Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy – January 25
• Tekken 8 – January 26

Upcoming Film Releases

The Beekeeper – January 12

From the screenwriter behind The Fast and the Furious comes a brand-new action thriller in the form of The Beekeeper, starring Jason Statham!

David Ayer is well-known for writing and/or directing several of the most popular action-thriller films of the past two decades, including The Fast and the Furious, End of Watch and Suicide Squad. Meanwhile, Jason Statham is recognized for his portrayal of violent and gritty characters, and leading the resurgence of action films during the past two decades. Now Ayer and Statham have teamed up to bring audiences the action-adventure film of the year.

Their teamwork will be put to the test in The Beekeeper, which releases later in January. Statham stars as Mr. Clay, a former operative for a clandestine organization known as “The Beekeepers.” After his friend and neighbor (Phylicia Rashad) commits suicide after becoming a victim of a phishing scam, Mr. Clay begins a vengeance campaign against the company responsible.

The Beekeeper promises explosion-fueled, ante-packed adventure when it arrives in theaters on January 12!

Other notable films releasing in January 2024 include:

• Society of the Snow – January 4
• Night Swim – January 5
• Mean Girls – January 12
• The Book of Clarence – January 12
• Distant – January 19