Marvel Snap gets surprise US suspension as stateside TikTok ban takes effect
UPDATE: Developer hopes the game will be restored "within 24 hours".
UPDATE 20/01/25: Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner said it has been "working around the clock" to bring Marvel Snap back online in the US after it went dark alongside TikTok.
Whilst the team is still unable to provide a definitive time on when the game should be available again stateside, it "hopes to have it back online within 24 hours".
"We'll update you once it's back up," Second Dinner said. "In the meantime, global players should be able to continue to play with no issues."
During this downtime, the team promised it would ensure players are "compensated" for time-based content, rewards, and missions that they lose whilst the game is offline.
ORIGINAL STORY 19/01/25: Marvel Snap has been banned in the US.
Whilst 170m American TikTokers were anticipating the app's suspension after the US Supreme Court upheld a decision to ban the Chinese app over security concerns, Marvel Snap players in the US have also been impacted given publisher Nuverse is also owned by TikTok owner, ByteDance.
According to developer Second Dinner, the ban was every bit as much a "surprise" to the team as it was to players, too.
"Sorry, Marvel Snap isn't available right now," the app now tells all US players.
"A law banning Marvel Snap has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately, that means you can't use Marvel Snap for now.
"Rest assured, we're working to restore our service in the US," the brief statement concluded. "Please stay tuned!"
Marvel Snap is now banned in the U.S. seemingly as part of the TikTok ban
— Wario64 (@wario64.bsky.social) January 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM
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Developer Second Dinner also addressed players on social media, insisting the "outage" was "a surprise to us and wasn't planned".
"Marvel Snap isn’t going anywhere," the team insisted. "We’re actively working on getting the game up as soon as possible and will update you once we have more to share."
At the time of writing, it is not clear how long the game will be offline.
At the end of 2023, ByteDance restructured its video games business - including Nuverse - calling the changes a "difficult" decision to make.