Marvel Snap, the free-to-play card-battling game set in the Marvel universe, has been taken offline following the TikTok ban in the United States. While everyone was aware of the looming deadline for the social media app, the banning of Marvel Snap came as a surprise, especially for those unaware that TikTok parent company ByteDance was even involved with the game.
"Sorry, Marvel Snap isn't available right now," an in-game message reads when trying to log in to play in the United States. "A law banning Marvel Snap has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use Marvel Snap for now. Rest assured, we're working to restore our service in the U.S. Please stay tuned!"
Marvel Snap is actually developed by U.S.-based game studio Second Dinner. However, the game is published by Nuverse, a subsidiary of ByteDance, the Chinese technology company best known for TikTok. In fact, it was the U.S. government's view of TikTok as a national security threat that resulted in Marvel Snap being temporarily taken offline alongside the social media app. Although Marvel Snap seemingly poses no threat to the United States or its citizens, the fact it's owned by ByteDance made it a casualty of the law.
Apparently, even Second Dinner was surprised by the game being taken offline. The developer took to social media to inform players that Marvel Snap is "temporarily unavailable" in the United States, adding that the "outage is a surprise to us and wasn't planned."
Second Dinner assured players that the game won't be going anywhere and that they are "actively working" on getting the game back up and running. It's unclear how long this will take or what they will have to do in order to get it live again. As of this writing, the game is no longer available to download from app stores. Those who already have it downloaded are unable to play.
Although primarily played as a mobile game, Marvel Snap was also playable on PC. It's still listed on the Steam store and can be downloaded; however, it's likely to be removed soon. Regardless, even if you do download it on PC, you are unable to play in the U.S. Even the official website for the game is not able to be accessed in the U.S.
Ben Brode, Second Dinner's Chief Development Officer and Co-Founder, also took to social media to offer players a bit of a workaround. "I am hearing that VPN software will allow you to continue playing Marvel Snap in the meantime," he wrote, adding, "as long as you pretend you're from Canada or something."
A VPN allows you to mask your actual location and pretend you are located somewhere you're not. Just as a quick note, using a VPN will still not allow you to access TikTok in the United States.
Launched in early access in 2022, Marvel Snap is a free-to-play, card-battling game known for its fast-paced matches. Players jump into games with custom-built decks of cards based on iconic Marvel characters and locations. Although free-to-play, the game featured microtransactions to purchase in-game currency, cosmetic skins, and seasonal battle passes. It's unclear what will happen for anyone who has recently purchased in-game items as there was seemingly no warning the game would be shut down with TikTok.
Marvel Snap isn't the only game that has been shut down as a result of the TikTok ban. Other games published by Nuverse have also found themselves shut out from the United States, including Land of Empires: Immortal, Mission EVO, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, One Punch Man: The Strongest, and more. It's possible TikTok and these games could return, at least temporarily, once Donald Trump takes office.
The President-elect previously stated he would "most likely" give TikTok a 90-day reprieve from the ban after he takes office on Monday, January 20th. TikTok acknowledged that promise in its own in-app statement that reads:
"A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned."
For now, all we can do is wait and see how this all plays out.