Update 1/19/25, 13:54 CST: Well that was quick, ByteDance has already reinstated entry to TikTok within the United States following “assurances” from President-elect Donald Trump. Curiously, this does not appear to have trickled right down to Marvel Snap but: I’m personally nonetheless unable to log into the sport’s desktop model, and I’ve seen sporadic complaints from gamers on social media.
Original Story: The well-liked free to play CCG Marvel Snap has been caught up within the United States TikTok ban, with gamers unable to entry the sport and as a substitute met with an analogous message in regards to the takedown as on TikTok. Marvel Snap’s writer, Nuverse, is a subsidiary of TikTok proprietor ByteDance, however the potential for Marvel Snap being affected by the ban was not reported previous to it taking impact, and appears to have taken even Nuverse without warning.
Trying to log into the sport on Steam simply produced a log in error and a looping try to hook up with my Google account, however this can be completely different for gamers with the sport put in earlier than the ban. On cellular, the place most of Snap’s customers appear to play, launching the app presents the next message: “A legislation banning Marvel Snap has been enacted within the US Unfortunately, which means you possibly can’t use Marvel Snap for now. Rest assured, we’re working to revive our service within the US. Please keep tuned!”
Marvel Snap is now banned within the U.S. seemingly as a part of the TikTok ban pic.twitter.com/6DkFQAo0H9January 19, 2025
Marvel Snap’s California-based developer, Second Dinner, has additionally confirmed the information. “Unfortunately, Marvel Snap is quickly unavailable in US app shops and is unavailable to play within the US,” the studio wrote on Twitter. “In a shock to Second Dinner and our writer Nuverse, Marvel Snap was affected by the takedown of TikTok late on Saturday, January 18th.
“Marvel Snap is not going wherever. We’re actively engaged on getting the sport up as quickly as attainable and can replace you as soon as now we have extra to share.”
The indisputable fact that Marvel Snap’s takedown got here out of the blue for Second Dinner and Nuverse is extraordinarily weird. It might be that Nuverse and TikTok proprietor ByteDance or the app shops themselves eliminated it out of an abundance of warning, not taking dangers with something ByteDance-related within the US till issues are sorted out. It strikes me as unlikely that there was one thing within the ban’s superb print that escaped the discover of the media, Second Dinner, and Nuverse that explicitly prolonged the ban to Marvel Snap. One risk is that that is ByteDance proverbially taking its ball and going residence, placing extra stress on the US authorities to reverse the ban by eradicating one other well-liked app, and this one a high-profile cash maker for Disney, an influential US media firm with lobbying energy.
It’s exhausting to see the Marvel Snap ban remaining in place very lengthy regardless of the way you slice it. There are numerous rumors that the incoming second Trump administration will both reverse the TikTok ban fully or kick the can down the highway, all regardless of the ban having been spun up underneath Trump’s preliminary time period within the first place and earlier than it was dropped at completion by Biden. Once Marvel Snap is again up within the US, I’d anticipate to see some type of compensation to gamers for the downtime, seemingly within the type of in-game foreign money.
