The social media app TikTok was banned in the US today and, as it turns out, so was the popular online card game Marvel Snap.
So, unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably quite aware that TikTok has been facing a potential ban in the US for a long while if it didn’t sell itself off, but as of today, seeing as that didn’t happen, the app has now in fact been banned. The reasons behind it are a load of nonsense, obviously (as if homegrown sites like Facebook aren’t a national security concern), but hey ho, not much you can do. As it turns out, though, there’s been a bit of an unexpected knock on effect: Marvel Snap has been banned too. You might quickly think to yourself that that’s a bit of an odd one to be lumped in with the fourth biggest social media app in the world, but it’s actually down to the fact that the game’s publisher, Nuverse, is owned by ByteDance – the same company that owns TikTok.
Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner appears to be just as surprised as you might be at the news, sharing a statement on Twitter: “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.”
Booting up the app will also greet you with a message noting the game “isn’t available right now” again reassuring players it’s working on restoring the app in the US. How neither Second Dinner nor its publisher Nuverse weren’t even slightly aware that it would also be banned, I can’t tell you, but if you’re an avid player you’re just going to have to sit tight in the meantime.