On January 19, TikTok, the popular social media platform, temporarily halted its operations in the United States, causing an unexpected ripple effect on related services, including the well-known card game, Marvel Snap. Developed by Second Dinner Studios and published by Nuverse, a ByteDance subsidiary, Marvel Snap was caught in the crossfire of this suspension, leaving players without access for a full 24 hours.
While the game has now returned online, full functionality is yet to be restored, with in-game purchases still unavailable. In response to this disruption, the developers are considering a change of publishers and plan to shift some services to internal resources, as announced in an official statement on Platform X. This move is motivated by the political risks associated with ByteDance, which owns TikTok. The company was given a 90-day extension to sell 50% of its business to a local owner, and failure to comply could lead to further blocks affecting TikTok and its associated projects, including Marvel Snap.
Second Dinner Studios has promised to provide further updates as the situation develops. Despite the game's return, many players are still facing authorization issues, though PC users can still access the game via Steam. The developers expressed their surprise at the incident and are diligently working to fully restore the game's services. As stated on Platform X:
"Marvel Snap is here to stay. We're working hard to restore the game as quickly as possible, and we'll keep players informed of our progress."
One of the most frustrating aspects of this ordeal was the lack of prior notification to players. Many continued to spend money on in-game purchases, unaware of the potential for a lockout.
