Marvel Snap’s Latest Event, High Voltage Overdrive, Is Outrageously Expensive
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The free-to-play online card game Marvel Snap is a game I’ve actively played since its 2022 launch. For me, it’s always been a fun, casual experience. A game to kill time while on the go. But lately, it’s become clear just how expensive this game really is. And the latest limited-time event? It’s a prime example of monetization gone too far, and it’s left much of the community outraged.
Marvel Snap - High Voltage Overdrive Reveals the Problem
High Voltage is a recurring event in Marvel Snap, and its latest iteration, High Voltage Overdrive, just went live a few days ago. It brings an exciting twist to the limited-time mode, offering various rewards including two new cards, Kid Omega and Cobra . But here’s the catch: one of those rewards, a new card Kid Omega, is practically impossible to earn without spending money. Even if you’re a free-to-play player willing to grind hard, it will not happen. Players have done the math, and it’s virtually impossible to earn Kid Omega through play.
How Volts are earned in High Voltage Overdrive
To unlock event rewards, including Kid Omega, you need Volts. Here’s how you can earn them:
Event Objectives – Three missions grant 125–500 Volts upon completion. These refresh every few hours. (You can use Gold to refresh missions)
Winning Matches – Each win in High Voltage Overdrive nets you 20 Volts. Yes, only 20.
Daily Dev Mails – Second Dinner is currently sending out 500 Volts daily via in-game mail to help players with the grind.
Reward Tracks – Reaching certain tiers in the event XP track grants bonus Volts.
If you don’t miss a mission refresh and play every day for hours and have constantly claimed the daily Volts from the devs, you’ll still be short.
This is nothing new for Marvel Snap players as developer Second Dinner has released a limited event featuring news cards before, and has always been obtainable if you spend enough time on the new game mode. The problem here is that this is the first time a new card is virtually impossible to earn through playing, as you won’t be able to earn enough of the game mode’s currency to purchase the card, as you only have days before the event ends.
Even with all your Volts earned saved up to get Kid Omega, it’s not going to happen, and the other rewards are pretty expensive in themselves, so spending Volts on others really makes it impossible to get the card without using real money.
How Much Would Kid Omega Cost in Real Money?
I barely played this event because it felt discouraging from the start. But I logged in to check how much it would cost me to get Kid Omega right now.
The total: 8,641 Gold to earn 48,005 Volts (I have 1,995 Volts earned)
To buy that much Gold, I’d need to spend at least PHP 5,290 to get 8,000 Gold, which is clearly not enough, assuming I have no Gold in my account.
Even Cobra, is tough to get, as it's locked behind the event’s Portal Pull system. Players must spend 15,000 Volts for a single pull, which gives them one of three possible rewards. And here’s the kicker: only one of those rewards is the new card (Cobra) while the other two are just art variants of existing cards. That gives new players only a 1-in-3 chance to actually get Cobra. If you're unlucky and need to pull three times, you're looking at a total of 45,000 Volts to get Cobra. That’s absolutely insane.
Gold is Marvel Snap’s premium currency. You can earn some by playing, completing weekly objectives, or via the battle pass (both free and paid), but the amounts are minimal. The system is clearly designed to push you toward purchases.
Kid Omega Costs More Than Full Games
Let’s put buying Kid Omega outright in perspective:
Stellar Blade on PC? PHP 3,000
Clair Obscur: Expedition 33? PHP 1,800
That’s a total of PHP 4,800 for two premium games at full price on Steam with money to spare. I can’t fathom spending that much for a single digital card.
That’s when I realized just how predatory this system has become. What started as a casual daily login to stay relevant in the meta has turned into fueling a system that’s increasingly anti-player.
When “Free-to-Play” Doesn’t Feel Free
Marvel Snap now joins the list of games that not only sell bundles in-game but also operate a separate external store where players can buy resources and cards for outrageous prices. Online card games like Hearthstone or Magic: The Gathering Arena have always been expensive, but Marvel Snap has taken it over the edge a few times and continues to test their community’s limits.
I love the game. There’s a reason why I played it daily. But High Voltage Overdrive is too much. I’m likely going to sit this event out entirely. Will Second Dinner listen to the backlash? Maybe. But one thing’s for sure: the community isn’t happy, and I’m right there with them.
Elden Ring Nightreign is clearly built for fans expecting the same but with a nice co-op twist, as the team responsible for Nightreign was able to compress the Elden Ring experience into these 20-minute skirmishes, complete with adrenaline-pumping encounters, discovery, and challenge. And that I’m okay with.