Ex-Hearthstone director’s new studio working on Marvel game

Former Hearthstone director Ben Brode is working on a Marvel game with his new game studio Second Dinner. The studio has also received an investment of 26 million euros from the Chinese NetEase, which collaborates with Blizzard on various games.

They don’t say exactly what the game is that Second Dinner will make. Prototyping in Unity has been underway for six months and the first playtests are already underway, so the start has already been made. “We think the 26 million euros will be enough to reach the end of this project,” said CEO Hamilton Chu in an announcement video.

To help the development further, Second Dinner also refers to open vacancies in its announcement. Currently there are two, but the group wants to bring in 10 to 15 new employees in the coming years.

Ben Brode left Blizzard eight months ago, where he directed the well-known digital card game Hearthstone. The other members of Second Dinner are also all Blizzard veterans. It is somewhat striking that the investor, NetEase, is a Blizzard partner. For example, the Chinese tech company is working on Diablo Immortal, the mobile game, but also on the Chinese versions of Hearthstone and World of Warcraft. NetEase has bought shares of Second Dinner with the 26 million euros, but does not own a majority.