The release date for Disney's upcoming free-to-play trading card game Marvel Snap has been announced, and the game will be coming in October. On Friday, Disney hosted a special Marvel & Disney Games Showcase event as part of the D23 Expo. During the event, a number of significant announcements were made regarding upcoming Marvel video games. Marvel Snap was one of those games and is a major part of Disney's video game plans for the rest of 2022.
Marvel Snap is best looked at as Disney's way of combining the Marvel franchise with accessible online trading card games like Blizzard's Hearthstone. Cards in Marvel Snap, of which there will be over 150 of at launch, each have a power level and a unique ability. Players will use these powers to try and win two of three "lanes" in a match. Players have the 12 cards in their deck to claim victory, with Marvel Snap matches happening in real-time and ending very quickly.
Needless to say, a lot of Marvel fans are excited to try out Marvel Snap for themselves. They won't have to wait much longer, either. Marvel Snap is officially scheduled to launch on October 18. It will be released for both PC and mobile devices. Ben Brode, previously Hearthstone's game director and now chief development officer for Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner, says that the team's spent years making sure the game is something that "everyone, gamer or not, can't wait to pick up and play."
Those interested in checking out Marvel Snap as soon as it's available can pre-register right now for both iOS and Android devices. Playing during Marvel Snap's launch month will be given a Special Variant card. For iOS, there's an Iron Man variant with art from Dan Hipp. The Android variant is a Hulk from Max Grecke.
It should be noted that since Marvel Snap is a free-to-play game, it has been heavily monetized. Beta players criticized Marvel Snap for pricey access to the game's Nexus Events, which ended up granting very little in terms of rewards. Those players were eventually refunded, but its led many players to question Second Dinner's promise that every card could be unlocked for free. As expected from a TCG, players had to pay money for a low chance of earning rare cards. What exactly Marvel Snap's launch monetization will be hasn't been revealed yet.
If Marvel Snap can figure out its monetization issues and give players a fair chance to earn the cards of their choice for free, there's a lot of potential in the card game. And if Marvel Snap proves successful, it could be a great way for artists to make money selling art for new card variants. Whether Marvel Snap can get its monetization together is a big "if," though.
Marvel Snap releases October 18 on iOS, Android, and PC.