Second Dinner, the developer behind the mobile card game Marvel Snap, laid off multiple employees on May 1, 2026, including community manager Griffin Bennett [1]. Ben Brode, co-founder of the studio and former Hearthstone director, described the layoffs as “painful” but said they were necessary to ensure the company’s continued operation. He posted on Discord, “We said goodbye to a few members of our team yesterday, including our awesome community manager. You know how much he cared about this community and we’re going to miss him. These decisions were painful to make and say nothing about the quality of the people leaving” [1].
Bennett, who previously worked on titles such as Destiny 2 and Overwatch, announced his departure on X (formerly Twitter) and expressed no hard feelings, writing, “No hard feelings to my friends and colleagues at SD. Their future is incredibly bright” [1].
Marvel Snap has faced mounting player frustrations over stagnating game mechanics and tension over balancing progression with pay-to-win elements [1]. In March 2026, Second Dinner published a detailed roadmap addressing these concerns, clarifying publishing roles and the widespread focus of the development team across various game modes [1].
Ben Brode emphasized the company’s ongoing commitment to Marvel Snap despite the layoffs. He reassured players: “For those of you concerned about Snap, we’re still here, still building, still committed to this game and to you. The roadmap we shared in March remains the same. This is us making hard decisions to make sure we can keep going, not a sign that we’re winding down” [1].
Some fans have speculated the layoffs may relate to rising Marvel licensing costs amid the studio’s plans for multiple Marvel movie releases in 2026, though this remains unconfirmed [1]. Fan reactions to the layoffs and game prospects range from cautious optimism about future fixes to worries about potential declines in quality and support [1].
Second Dinner’s roadmap and ongoing development efforts set the next milestone for Marvel Snap’s evolution following the recent restructuring [1].
