Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner posted a tweet on X (formerly Twitter) that they've secured a new publisher: Skystone Games. As a U.S.-based company, Skystone appears to be a more stable choice given the ongoing volatility in U.S.-China relations.
It's surprising they were able to find a new publisher so soon after the outage and I'm curious if this change is going to lead to any changes with their monetization model. Overtime, Marvel Snap has become progressively more expensive with some players feeling that the game lacks ways to allow new players to catch up to veterans who have been playing since release. It's been disappointing, since the game was initially praised for its restraint with monetization.
In their tweet, Second Dinner thanked it's old publisher, Nuverse - which raises questions about whether Nuverse is stepping back from its gaming ambitions. The transition happened remarkably fast- it's been just 11 days since the game was pulled from storefronts. Without insight into the specifics of their publishing contract, it's unclear how much control Second Dinner had over the decision, but Nuverse didn't make much effort to retain Marvel Snap.
I haven't picked the game up in a while but if the new publisher makes positive changes to the monetization model, I'd be willing to come back to the game. I always enjoyed it, but over time was put off by how much it wanted me to spend to keep up. I won't hold my breath as Marvel Snap is still incredibly successful. In October last year, it was announced that Marvel Snap's gross lifetime earnings reached $276.5 million. It's unlikely the new company will see that success and decide that they want less of that.
I would love to hear the discussion on why Nuverse was willing to give up their cash cow, but for now all I can do is speculate.
