10 Times Video Games STOLE From Fans

10. Marvel Snap – Pixel Variants That Look a Little Too Familiar

Marvel Snap quickly became a runaway hit in the mobile CCG space, combining Marvel's enormous character roster with snappy mechanics and stylish variant artwork. But in 2023, some of those variants - specifically the pixel art cards - drew unwanted attention.

Fans were quick to notice that certain pixel variants bore an uncanny resemblance to existing fan art. One of the most cited examples involved artist Jason Kiantoro, who created a stylised Black Panther illustration back in 2018. When Snap released a pixel M’Baku card years later, sharp-eyed fans noticed striking similarities in pose, proportions, and costume details.

Similarly, a pixel variant of Sentry was flagged for resembling artwork by popular illustrator InHyuk Lee, known for his Marvel-inspired fanwork.

Second Dinner, the developers of Snap, have not issued an official response, but did acknowledge the reports on Discord, saying the team was “looking into it.” Since then, no cards appear to have been pulled or altered.

Were the similarities coincidental, or a result of over-zealous outsourcing? Nobody's confirmed anything. But the incident raised questions about how variant art is sourced - and whether fans’ creations are being referenced just a little too closely.