The recent divest-or-ban law aimed at TikTok has resulted in the sudden removal of several ByteDance-linked applications, including the highly popular card game, Marvel Snap. Players were caught off guard when access was cut off on Saturday night, unaware of the app’s connection to ByteDance.
The card game battler set in the Marvel universe is developed by Second Dinner, a California-based company. It is published by Nuverse, which is owned by ByteDance, making it subject to the same shutdown order.
In a statement on X, Second Dinner expressed their surprise at the takedown, stating, “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.”
Just before January 19, 2025, the game was removed from the App Store for iPad and iPhone users, as well as from Google Play for Android players. While the game remains listed on Steam for PC users, many players have reported being signed out and unable to log back in.
Players are now greeted with an in-game message stating:
Sorry, Marvel Snap isn’t available right now
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!
Interestingly, unlike TikTok, the announcement regarding the law’s impact on Marvel Snap was not well communicated to players. Many may not have realized the app’s affiliation with ByteDance, even those who were actively purchasing in-game items.
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…
— Second Dinner (@seconddinner) January 19, 2025
Apart from Marvel Snap, other ByteDance applications like Lemon8 and CapCut have also quickly vanished from app stores along with TikTok. The situation for other ByteDance-linked apps remains uncertain, with some still available while others have been removed. For instance, the Lark app, a Slack-like collaboration tool, was initially available but has since been taken down. Meanwhile, other games published by Nuverse, such as Earth: Revival – Deep Underground and Ragnarok X: 3rd Anniversary, remain available on the App Store as of this writing, shortly after midnight ET on the 19th.
Update, January 19th: Reports indicate that Marvel Snap PC players are unable to log in. A statement from developer Second Dinner has also been added.
