The new trading card game “Xross Stars” (Read:Cross Stars, Abbreviation:Crosta) is scheduled for release in August 2025. The first volume will feature a total of 24 popular talents from Crazy Raccoon, VSPO!, and Neo-Porte as cards. The appeal of this title lies in its beautiful card illustrations that capture the “shining moments” of popular talents and its game system that boasts deep strategic possibilities. This time, we spoke with Producer Atsutoshi Kubo, Art Director Kento Inoue, and Planner Hiromasa Shima, who are central to the development, about the behind-the-scenes of “Xross Stars” and their passionate commitment to the game.

An Attractive Game System Gathers a Highly Specialized Team

(Producer) Kubo: From the very beginning, I felt this project would be an extremely challenging endeavor. To create both the art, which relates to the visual quality, and the game design, which relates to the internal quality, with the best possible lineup, I was running around quite a bit from the team assembly stage.
To kick off the project, we first started by gathering members for game design. We reached out to Mr. Yasooka, who has top-class experience in the industry, to be our lead game designer, and along with Mr. Shimizu, who has experience developing a certain smartphone card game, the three of us built the core of the rules.
Currently, in addition to the members responsible for rule design, an elite team specializing in test plays has also been established. Top-class players in the industry, including those who have placed high in card game world championships, participate in daily test plays, thoroughly refining the game balance of “Xross Stars”. Mr. Shima, who serves as a planner, is also active as a member of this test player team.

*Trading Card Game (TCG): A game where players battle using decks of cards they have constructed themselves. The appeal lies in its high strategy and freedom in deck construction.

(Planner) Shima: I originally used to practice Pokémon cards with Mr. Kubo, and I’ve also participated in world championships. My previous job was in sales, but one day, Mr. Kubo suddenly approached me saying, “I’m making an incredibly fun card game, why don’t we make it even more interesting together?” After actually playing the beta version of “Xross Stars”, I felt, “This is a card game that offers a new experience unlike anything before, and it’s fun”, so I immediately decided to join.

Precisely because I love card games, I found the BO3* rule experience interesting, and the idea of “cardifying past scenes of favorite talents” was also new and exciting. I feel this is an element that not only TCG players but also fans of the talents can enjoy.

*BO3 (Best Of 3): Abbreviation for a three-game match, a format in games and tournaments where victory is decided by who wins more out of three matches.

Kubo: For the art aspect, Mr. Inoue has joined us as the Art Director.

(Art Director) Inoue: My previous job was at a game company where I also worked as a planner for a smartphone card game. Before joining this project, I had the chance to test play it, and its completeness as a card game was exceptionally high. Additionally, like Mr. Shima, I found the concept of capturing past streaming scenes of talents and turning them into card illustrations incredibly interesting. For fans who regularly enjoy videos and streams, the idea of “that legendary scene becoming a card” is a very appealing concept, isn’t it?

Art and Game Balance, the Enthusiasm and Reality of the Development Site

Kubo: In your daily work, what aspects do you find rewarding?

Inoue: This project simply has a massive amount of production work; the first volume alone involves creating over 150 original illustrations. The process of working with each IP holder was challenging, but the joy of seeing the world I designed take shape through the talents of the illustrators was exceptional.

Kubo: Precisely because there’s so much work, wasn’t it nothing but rewarding? ?(laughs)

Inoue: Well (laughs). But yes, that’s true. The concept for the illustrations and the overall design direction were clear, so it was easy to give instructions to the designers. Rather than “nothing but rewarding”, it was more like, “it’s so rewarding, it’s almost a problem”. In terms of workload, I felt it was impossible for one person to handle, but the reactions to each card and key visual at the presentation were very positive, so I’m truly delighted. I feel the hard work paid off.

Kubo: By the way, as the art lead, do you have any particularly favorite cards?

Inoue: That’s a difficult question… One that I have a strong attachment to is the LRPP (Leader Card Highest Rarity) card of Hinano-san (HINANO TACHIBANA from VSPO!).

Inoue: Actually, due to the production schedule, this was the first LRPP card to be completed. This card became the quality benchmark for LRPPs, and it also put pressure on us, like, “We have to maintain this quality” (laughs). That said, I have an affection for all the cards. Even for non-rare cards, like the somewhat comical “Resident of a Messy Room” card we revealed at the presentation, we put a lot of effort into them, so I hope people will enjoy those aspects too!

Kubo: How about you, Mr. Shima?

Shima: As a planner, I’m committed to the game balance aspect. From a card gamer’s perspective, I believe that if the gameplay isn’t interesting, it won’t become a game loved for a long time. Of course, the illustrations are attractive and the quality as collectible items is high, but if it’s lacking as a card game, it will be difficult to satisfy a wider range of players. Therefore, I’m leveraging the knowledge I’ve cultivated in the competitive card game scene for rule design and balance adjustments.

Kubo: Are there any tasks you find particularly difficult?

Shima: My main task is primarily game balance adjustment, and I pay special attention to the balance of the talents. There’s a fundamental rule in the design:”don’t create disparities between talents”. This means that even if players build a deck* with only their four favorite talents, it must be reasonably competitive. Therefore, all talents are finely tuned within a certain standard, and that’s where I spend the most time.

*Deck: A bundle of cards used by the player, reflecting their playstyle and personality. A key feature is that players construct it themselves.

Kubo: Balance adjustment is an extremely difficult task, isn’t it?

Shima: It is. I conduct test plays every day, and the rules have changed considerably from the initial stages. When I first joined the team, it was at the beta stage, and we were test playing with completely blank cards that only had numbers written on them. Now, it’s balanced to reflect the individuality of the talents and to be enjoyable regardless of who they’re paired with.

Kubo: Yes, for the prototype, we really were test playing with completely blank cards. Compared to the early days, not only the appearance but also the rules have changed significantly, haven’t they?

Shima: Absolutely. Test playing with simple white cards with numbers written on them, adjusting each talent’s Memoria, Attack, and HP, and determining the strength balance was a very laborious task. While utilizing the talents’ individuality, we adjusted the balance keeping gameplay in mind so that it’s enjoyable no matter who they’re combined with, and so that no specific talent becomes overwhelmingly strong.

Xross Stars’ Unique Strategy and Two Major Development Visions

Kubo: I used to play Pokémon cards quite a bit, and I was drawn to their “high reproducibility”. While luck is a big factor, the draw sources* are very powerful, allowing you to build your own path to victory with a 60-card deck. For example, how to make a single-copy inclusion card function effectively, or I enjoyed devising strategies to win even with non-mainstream deck compositions.
“Xross Stars” aims for a middle ground between such reproducibility and luck.
In “Xross Stars”, draw sources are relatively powerful as a game mechanic, but generally, actions that search the draw pile* do not occur. Therefore, players need to act while considering expected values by keeping track of what’s left in their draw pile. This is what creates its unique strategy.

*Draw Source: Drawing cards from the top of your deck. Cards that have the effect of drawing are called “doroso”.
*Draw Pile (Yamafuda): The player’s pile of cards. Players draw cards from the draw pile to play.

Shima: That’s right. For example, if you draw many powerful Ace Cards from your deck early in the game, you might intentionally dig through your draw pile quickly to reconfigure it, or conversely, conserve cards without drawing to strengthen your draw pile for the late game. Such recovery strategies and the mind games of draw pile construction, where choices diverge depending on the player, are what make it interesting. No searching or shuffling, and carrying over your deck in BO3 battles – I think that’s a pretty original rule design.

To begin with, what I consider an “interesting card game” is one that has strategy and reveals its depth the more you play it. “Xross Stars” has two rule sets:BO1 (Best Of 1:first to win one game) and BO3 (Best Of 3:first to win two games), with BO3 planned for use in tournaments. Within that, the way the play experience changes from round to round is a feature not often seen in other card games.

Kubo: The rules themselves are simple, so even first-timers can understand them immediately after playing once. However, the more you play, the deeper it gets. We’d be happy if players could pursue that “depth of play”.

Shima: Yes. And “Xross Stars” has over 100 types of cards in the first volume alone. In the first volume, players can choose their favorite four out of 24 talents and include up to eight powerful Ace Cards to build a deck, which is a lot of fun. I feel we’ve succeeded in creating an environment where various powerful decks can be built with just the first volume.

Kubo: As I touched on earlier, there are two main visions for rule design that we established as a base for this development. One is “not to create disparities between talents”. The other is “to balance casual appeal and competitive viability”. Both are ideals, but they are extremely difficult to achieve, aren’t they?

Shima: They are. First, regarding “not to create disparities between talents”, we particularly focused on adjusting the parameters of each card:Memoria, Attack, HP, and Awakening Abilities. We aimed to achieve a good balance among talents through these fine numerical adjustments, conducting daily test plays.

With the second volume, as the card pool* expands, there’s a possibility that leader cards from the first volume might see less use. To prevent such occurrences, we are continuously conducting thorough test plays and making balance adjustments.

Kubo: We’re designing it so that players can always play with decks featuring their favorite talents, right?

Shima: Of course. Deck archetypes are built around Ace Cards, so we’re designing it so that swapping talents doesn’t significantly weaken the deck. That said, there will be compatibility differences, like “this combination seems stronger”, but we’re adjusting it so that these differences have almost no impact on victory or defeat. As we add more cards in the second, third, and subsequent volumes, we will continue to focus on balance adjustments to create situations where many talents can shine.
Regarding “balancing casual appeal and competitive viability”, we’ve consciously designed it to be accessible to card game beginners while satisfying players seeking competitive depth. As mentioned earlier, the two rule sets, BO1 and BO3, achieve both casual play that can be enjoyed quickly and deep gameplay that tests deck-building skills and in-game decision-making. We aimed for a broadly appealing card game that can be enjoyed by any playstyle.

*Card Pool: The available cards. The range of card choices.

The Ever-Evolving Fun! The Future Xross Stars Envisions and its Promise to Fans

Inoue: Honestly, I feel that “Xross Stars” is undertaking a rather unique challenge right now. In the future, I want to enhance its “real-time nature” more. Ideally, I’d love for players to say, “What happened in that recent stream is already a card!” – that’s the kind of speed I’m aiming for. It’s still uncertain if we can achieve it, but for example, I’d like to try releasing cards for newly joining talents simultaneously with their announcement.

Kubo: I’d love to do that! Precisely because we have a flexible system, I want to actively take on unprecedented, fun initiatives in the future.

Inoue: Of course, there are many difficult aspects at present, but I want to try various things in the future. I want to work hard towards a future where “Xross Stars” expands further and establishes itself as a single IP. Also, it would be interesting if we could hold exhibitions. I’m confident in the quality of the illustrations, so I’d like to provide a place where people can view them up close in large sizes.

Kubo: I think that’s an excellent idea. Precisely because we’re not closely collaborating with major card game manufacturers, we can be agile and think freely, and I want to launch various interesting initiatives from now on.

Shima: With “Xross Stars” the rules are simple enough to learn in a single game, so we believe it’s easy to pick up, even for those who have never played a card game before. At the same time, it’s packed with the kind of deep strategic elements that get TCG players hooked—like reading your opponent’s moves and branching lines of play.

It offers a great deal of depth, so we’re confident that a wide range of players will enjoy it! We want to continue delivering new experiences through new cards so that people can keep playing through the second, third, and even further volumes. Of course, game balance is extremely important for that, so I want to continue to challenge myself daily, discussing with test players!

The first booster pack for the new trading card game “Xross Stars”, “Luminous Daybreak” and the starter decks “First Glory” and “Demon Lord’s Advent”, will go on sale from Friday, August 22, 2025.

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