While many were expecting the U.S. to shut down TikTok within its borders if parent company ByteDance didn’t sell it to a Western buyer, it was a bit more of a surprise when Marvel Snap went dark as its publisher is also owned by the same company.
TikTok officially went offline for those in the U.S. on Saturday, January 18, just hours before the January 19 deadline set by the U.S.’ divest-or-ban law. Users who try to access TikTok in the U.S. are now greeted with a message saying they can’t use the app right now. As it turns out, Marvel Snap players within the country’s borders are getting a similar note.
“Sorry, Marvel Snap isn’t available right now,” the message reads when you try to open the app. “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!”
For those unaware, Marvel Snap was developed by Second Dinner and was published by ByteDance-owned publisher Nuverse, which is what led to the ban.
Ben Brode, Second Dinner’s Chief Development Officer and Co-Founder, took to BlueSky to discuss the ban and state that it was a surprise to them too.
“Unfortunately, Marvel Snap is temporarily unavailable in U.S. app stores and is unavailable to play in the U.S. This was a surprise to Second Dinner and our publisher Nuverse,” Brode wrote. “We’re actively working on getting the game up as soon as possible and will update you once we have more to share.”
Brode also offered a few words of advice for those who miss the Marvel-themed card game, saying VPN may be their new best friend.
“FWIW I am hearing that VPN software will allow you to continue playing Marvel Snap in the meantime, as long as you pretend you’re from Canada or something,” Brode said.
For more, check out our Marvel Snap review while you wait for its hopeful return!
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Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X/Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on TikTok.
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