Ben Brode, the charismatic former boss of Blizzard’s card battler Hearthstone, has finally revealed his new project. It’s called Marvel Snap, and is a new multiplayer collectible card game filled with comic book characters.
Brode quit Blizzard back in 2018, after more than 15 years at the company, and before its more recent troubles became public. Alongside others who had worked with him to launch Hearthstone, Brode went on to found his own studio, Second Dinner, which has been working on Marvel Snap ever since with Chinese outfit Nuverse, the gaming arm of TikTok owner Bytedance.
Snap’s focus is on short, unique matches which “cut out the fluff” and last around three minutes total. Player decks are smaller - 15 cards or fewer - and both players act simultaneously, rather than waiting for the other person to finish.
Matches take place over three locations, with the aim to win at least two of these. As you’re closing in on a win you can “Snap” your opponent, and gamble on doubling your victory rewards.
150 cards will be available when Marvel Snap launches, with variants on some of the universe’s major heroes depicted with alternate art styles.
As you’d expect, Marvel Snap is free-to-play, though Second Dinner has said its aim is for you to be able to unlock every card without paying anything.
The game is “mobile first”, but an early access version for PC will also be ready by the time Marvel Snap is launched “globally”. Before all of that, an Android closed beta will launch “soon” - and you can sign up via MarvelSnap.com
