Players shocked as US TikTok ban renders Marvel Snap unplayable
Twitter: @MarvelSnapFans were left without access to Marvel Snap due to the US TikTok ban, which targeted the parent company of both, ByteDance Ltd.
As well as Tiktok, ByteDance is the parent company of Nuverse, the publisher of Marvel Snap. The mobile game is therefore subject to the legislation that prohibits ByteDance, TikTok, and any of its subsidiaries in the United States from distributing, maintaining, or updating applications in the United States.
Players took to social media to express that they were blindsided by the ban, with many unaware of the ownership link between Marvel Snap and TikTok. Google searches for Marvel Snap skyrocketed as the ruling came into effect on January 19.
Marvel Snapped
In a statement shared on Twitter/X, Second Dinner stated, “Unfortunately, MARVEL SNAP is temporarily unavailable in U.S. app stores and is unavailable to play in the U.S. This outage is a surprise to us and wasn’t planned.”
However, the statement reiterated the developer’s continued commitment to the game saying “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.”
Twitter users shared confusion about how exactly the shutdown was a “surprise” to the Marvel Snap developers considering the clarity of the legislation which was enacted in April 2024.
Mobile Legends gone with a Bang Bang
Marvel Snap was not the only victim of the cull. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (commonly abbreviated to MLBB), which has the second largest esports scene in the world by viewership according to Esports Charts, is also banned in the US as its developer Moonton is a subsidiary of Nuverse.
The game, similar to League of Legends, does not carry the same level of popularity in the United States as in East Asia, but the ban still shocked some fans who were disappointed to suddenly lose one of their favorite games.
Moonton’s other titles include the mobile RPG Watcher of Realms and MLBB spin-off Mobile Legends: Adventure.
After months of speculation on whether it would go ahead, the TikTok ban is now in effect. TikTok has repeatedly reiterated that the legislation’s call for TikTok to be sold to a US buyer was not plausible. Despite this, YouTuber Mr Beast stated that he was preparing a bid for the site alongside investors. Elon Musk was also linked to acquiring the app as recently as last week.