Second Dinner

Second Dinner is an independent game development studio founded in 2018. Based around a remote-first operating model, the company develops accessible, long-lived games for mobile and cross-platform audiences while maintaining a central corporate headquarters in Irvine, California.

The studio was founded by former Blizzard Entertainment veterans including Hamilton Chu, Ben Brode, Mike Schweitzer, and Jomaro Kindred. Its work spans full-cycle game development: gameplay and systems design, client/server engineering, art, rigging, 2D and 3D animation, UI/UX, and live-service content and community operations.

Games and live service

Second Dinner’s debut release, MARVEL SNAP, launched in 2022 as a fast-paced digital collectible card game for iOS, Android, and PC. Developed through a Marvel licensing agreement and published in partnership with Nuverse, the title combines cross-platform multiplayer play with an ongoing live-service roadmap.

The game received major recognition following launch, including Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards in 2022, Mobile Game of the Year at the 2023 D.I.C.E. Awards, IGN’s 2022 Best Strategy Game, and an Apple Design Award for Innovation.

Development approach

The studio’s capabilities include collectible card game design, game systems balancing, cross-platform multiplayer, and live operations. Its technical work uses Unity and Unreal Engine pipelines, alongside AI-assisted rapid prototyping and automated quality-assurance workflows. Second Dinner has also invested in open-source game technology through W4 Games and the Godot ecosystem.

In 2024, a $100 million Series B investment led by Griffin Gaming Partners supported continued independence, further development of MARVEL SNAP, and incubation of original projects.