Marvel Snap, the online card game featuring the legendary roster of superheroes, was a victim of the TikTok ban. While TikTok has come back online, the digital card game remains offline in the US.
While the game is developed by a US-based studio, Second Dinner, it is published by Nuverse, which is owned by Bytedance – TikTok’s parent company.
With this link, the US government shuttered the game. Also caught up in the mess are CapCut, a video editor, and Lemon8, an Instagram competitor.
Loading up Marvel Snap in the US presents a similar message to what TikTok displayed. Despite the ban of the popular game, Disney, which owns Marvel, hasn’t stepped in to fix things. Marvel Snap’s X account has also remained quiet since January 18.
Marvel Snap should be back soon if TikTok is anything to go by
However, Second Dinner has been communicating with fans over the weekend. According to the latest post on X, they expect the game to be up within “24 hours”.
We've been working around the clock to bring MARVEL SNAP back up in the U.S. and hope to have it back online within 24 hours. We'll update you once it's back up.
In the meantime, global players should be able to continue to play with no issues.
— Second Dinner (@seconddinner) January 20, 2025
As the game runs limited-time events and paid passes for extra rewards, Second Dinner promises that players will be “compensated for their lost time.” One player in the X replies that they hope it’s better than previous downtime compensation, while another says that they “didn’t ask for this.”
During this downtime, we realize that many of you are missing out on time-based content, rewards, and Missions.
Second Dinner is committed to ensuring that all players are compensated for their lost time.
We’ll be sharing more information on this as the situation evolves.
— Second Dinner (@seconddinner) January 19, 2025
The TikTok ban only lasted 15 hours, with the company moving quickly to cozy up to Donald Trump. On Truth Social, Trump’s social media app, he posted “Save TikTok”. This is even though it was under Trump’s first administration that he began pushing to ban TikTok.
Marvel Snap is an enormous money maker for both Bytedance and Disney. In 2024, it celebrated its second anniversary, and had earned over $275 million. Meanwhile, Disney has a second golden goose on its hands, as Marvel Rivals, a Chinese-developed multiplayer shooter has grossed well over $135 million since its December 6 release date. Marvel Rivals was not banned.
Featured image: Marvel, Second Dinner, Bytedance