If you want a reminder of how weirdthe games industry has gotten, consider the case of Marvel Snap. The mobile-first digital card game (which will also be available on PC), is still deep in a closed beta, without a firm release date. But free-to-play monetization is what it is, and the community is currently mired in an absolute uproar over a particularly brazen transaction scheme. In that sense, I guess you could say Marvel Snap is way ahead of schedule.
Marvel Snap is unlike other card games in the sense that you can't buy an unlimited number of boosters to chase down whatever legendary you're looking for. Instead, the only way to add new heroes to your catalog is to advance on a «collection track,» which grants you a random card every couple of intervals. However, developer Second Dinner (which is composed of former Hearthstone developers), recently changed that model with the introduction of time-limited «Nexus Events,» allowing players to spend real money (by first converting it into an in-game currency) for a chance to get exclusive cards, variants, and avatars.
The two ultra-rare cards in the current Nexus Event pack are a Jane Foster Thor card (which can only be collected through the promotion) and a Destroyer, which is also available in the free-to-play path. Each of the two Nexus Event cards are distributed on a 1.5 percent chance per spin, which means you could hypothetically spend about $500 obtaining them both. To add insult to injury, the common rewards in these packs aren't cards at all. It's just in-game currency and resources to upgrade your existing collection. The Jane Foster card looks pretty powerful, so you can understand why players might be feeling betrayed.
Sure enough, the burgeoning Snap
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