Disappointing News for US Marvel Snap Fans: Card Game Unexpectedly Banned Alongside TikTok

Today marked the day when TikTok, the wildly popular social media app, faced an outright ban in the United States. But it wasn’t alone—Marvel Snap, a beloved online card game, also found itself caught in the same tide.

If you’ve been keeping up with the news, the chatter around TikTok potentially being banned in the U.S. has been ongoing due to demands for it to sell its U.S. operations. Since that didn’t pan out, the app is now officially banned. While the stated reasons might seem questionable (I mean, it’s as if platforms like Facebook don’t pose similar concerns), there’s little to be done about it at this stage. However, the ban delivered an unexpected blow: Marvel Snap was also axed in the process. At first glance, this connection seems strange, considering Marvel Snap isn’t exactly a social media titan. The link, however, lies in the fact that ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, also owns Nuverse, the publisher of Marvel Snap.

The folks over at Second Dinner, the developers of Marvel Snap, didn’t see this coming either. They took to Twitter to voice their surprise: “Unfortunately, Marvel Snap is temporarily unavailable in U.S. app stores and is unavailable to play in the U.S. In a surprise to Second Dinner and our publisher Nuverse, Marvel Snap was affected by the takedown of TikTok late on Saturday, January 18th. Marvel Snap isn’t going anywhere. We’re actively working on getting the game up as soon as possible and will update you once we have more to share.”

For those attempting to log into Marvel Snap, you’ll be met with a message that the game “isn’t available right now.” This statement comes with a reassurance that efforts are underway to restore its availability in the U.S. It’s baffling how both Second Dinner and Nuverse were seemingly blindsided by the ban. So if you’re a Marvel Snap enthusiast, it seems all you can do is wait patiently until things get sorted out.