This weekend, Marvel Snap players were shocked to discover that the game was removed from the App Store and Google Play Store, and can no longer be played by users in the United States. There has been a lot of confusion among players, but the app went offline as a result of the current issues with ByteDance, the owner of TikTok. ByteDance happens to own Nuverse, the publishers of Marvel Snap. While the shutdown of TikTok was long expected, the situation surrounding Marvel Snap was a complete surprise, not only to players, but apparently to Nuverse and developers at Second Dinner.
Videos by ComicBook.com
In posts on the social media platform Bluesky, Second Dinner chief development officer and co-founder Ben Brode has addressed the situation surrounding Marvel Snap. The team is working to get things resolved, and is telling fans that the use of a VPN set to Canada is a temporary workaround. While a lot of fans have expressed frustration and disbelief that Second Dinner wouldn’t have had some advance notice, Brode disputed those claims. In a reply to one user, Brode said “it doesn’t help us to bring the game down then bring it back up – that doesn’t make us extra money somehow.”
While some fans are clearly skeptical, there had been no signs that Marvel Snap was in any type of trouble, or would be winding down support in the U.S., or anywhere else for that matter. The game had a new season launch this month centered around the Dark Avengers, bringing in cards based on characters like Iron Patriot and Victoria Hand. The game had also just featured content based on Marvel Rivals. It would stand to reason the developers would have given fans some advance notice had they known. Unfortunately, this doesn’t help anyone that recently spent money on the game.
Hopefully the situation is resolved quickly, and Marvel Snap becomes playable for those in the U.S. sometime soon. While the ban on ByteDance owned media was passed with bipartisan support among U.S. lawmakers, the Biden administration had said that enforcement would be up to Donald Trump, the incoming president. Basically, there was no reason for the ban to go in effect as early as it did. Ironically, it was former President Trump that had discussed banning TikTok during his first term in office. Now, ByteDance seems to be counting on the incoming president to announce that he won’t enforce the ban, even though it was upheld by the Supreme Court.
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At this time, there’s no telling how long the ban on Marvel Snap will remain in place. It’s possible it could get reversed ahead of any decisions on TikTok, or we could be waiting for some kind of announcement until after President Trump takes office. There’s simply no way of knowing, but Marvel Snap players will have to use the VPN workaround in the meantime.
Are you hoping to see Marvel Snap restored to working in the U.S.? Had you recently spent money on the game? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!
