Marvel Snap wheels out Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury for its launch video

Marvel Snap cards only have a power value and a cost in a bid to keep them simple and the action smooth. (Image credit: Marvel)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEvBIn5SCAU I have to admit to raising a skeptical eyebrow when I read yesterday that Ben Brode thinks Marvel Snap is going to become the biggest card game of all time. I mean, he would say that, given that Marvel Snap is the first release by Second Dinner, the studio he co-founded with a bunch of other Hearthstone alumni after leaving Blizzard in 2018.  

Marvel Snap left early access and went into full release today. The PC client still very much shows its mobile roots, most noticeably in its phone-shaped orientation, but if you're looking for a sense of how seriously Marvel's paymasters are taking the game, a launch video starring none other than Samuel L Jackson gives a pretty good idea. 

For those not inclined to click, the riff here is that Nick Fury has been replaced with a Snap player by the SHIELD human resources department on the basis that the phone jockey is doing a better job of managing a stable of superheroes. Jackson sells the bit with admirable gusto. I imagine he has long learned that being part of a ''cinematic universe' means having infinite things to sell.

Speaking of selling, Second Dinner has also clarified how monetization will work in the full game, clearly keen to draw a line under the unpleasantness that led to strong player pushback against 'Nexus Events' this August, ultimately leading to the scrapping of that entire system.  

"We’d like to thank all the players that have shared their feedback and are sticking with us. We’ve got big dreams for Marvel Snap, and we want to build a game that will stand the test of time - we have no plans at this time to add an additional major monetization system. Marvel Snap needs to be fair and fun, and provide a valuable, player-friendly experience."

Note that in Snap additional cards are unlocked to your collection by playing the game. You can, however, pay to get earlier access to cosmetic upgrades. According to the Second Dinner rep, the monetisation options at launch look like this:

  • Season Pass (Standard and Premium options)
  • Card Variants (cosmetic skins for cards that players have acquired)
  • Gold (in-game currency used to purchase Card Variants or additional Credits that are normally earned by playing and used to upgrade cards and increase collection levels)

We found Snap's matches to be fast and fun when playing the beta back in July. Our one criticism of the gameplay was that, despite the gorgeous poppy card art, the actual battles lacked a little pizazz. Yes, slamming Iron Man feels good, but in terms of game-winning flourishes, in Snap there's nothing quite as spectacular as clearing a board with Deathwing in Hearthstone. It's more a case of using combat maths cleverly, something which didn't work out great for Artifact, though Snap certainly doesn't need a PhD to play. 

Anyway, I like the idea of super-speedy matches and will definitely be indulging on the sofa while watching b-tier TV shows. Marvel Snap is out now on Steam.  

Tim Clark

With over two decades covering videogames, Tim has been there from the beginning. In his case, that meant playing Elite in 'co-op' on a BBC Micro (one player uses the movement keys, the other shoots) until his parents finally caved and bought an Amstrad CPC 6128. These days, when not steering the good ship PC Gamer, Tim spends his time complaining that all Priest mains in Hearthstone are degenerates and raiding in Destiny 2. He's almost certainly doing one of these right now. 

Read more
The Thing in Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals starts 2025 by clobberin' the most played charts, hitting over 640,000 players on Steam alone
Anime-style spiderman lifting up his mask to reveal his face.
Marvel Snap is back online after falling afoul of TikTok's temporary ban, and unsurprisingly, its creators are on the search for a new publisher
Marvel Snap - Kitty Pryde
After falling victim to the recent US TikTok ban, Marvel Snap switches to a new US-based publisher
Mister Fantastic mid ultimate
The best part of Marvel Rivals Season 1 is Mister Fantastic's obnoxiously fun chest-bump attack and his ridiculously OP kit
Marvel Rivals characters - Hulk with his hands out as if he's grabbing the camera.
Marvel Rivals' growing roster of heroes scares me, but the game's director seems sure that all is under control: 'Everything is progressing smoothly'
marvel rivals characters screenshots
'The team wants every kind of player to enjoy the game': Marvel Rivals director wants to foster a competitive scene, but not at the expense of fun
Latest in Card Game
A snakewoman holding a sickle
Magic: The Gathering's Tarkir: Dragonstorm set isn't just about dragons
A blue dragon rises into storm clouds
Wizards of the Coast throws a bone to players who miss vanilla Magic: The Gathering with a dragon-themed set called Tarkir: Dragonstorm
A joker card with other cards in the background
Balatro's publisher doesn't know how big the 1.1 update will be or when it's coming: 'He's just gonna show up one day and say, here's 100 new jokers'
The jester from Balatro, portrayed in unsettling detail in real life, wears an uncanny smile and stares at the viewer.
Balatro's LocalThunk isn't 'trying to pull a Banksy', he just 'wanted to be left alone to make his game'
Hands pushing poker chips on a table
Winning $2.6 billion in this poker videogame has completely ruined fake poker for me
A pack of real life Balatro cards.
The official Balatro Timeline documents the history of 2024's biggest game as its developer went from 'obsessed' with making it to 'shocked' at the reception
Latest in News
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
The new Prime Asset featured in the upcoming update for the Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials puts its already paranoid players under surveillance for a time-limited story event
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
Starfield: Shattered Space
By the time Bethesda was on Starfield, you'd 'basically get in trouble' for breaking schedule, says former dev: 'A lot of the great stuff within Skyrim came from having the freedom to do what you want'