Summary
Marvel Snaphas been banned in the United States. The hit game was pulled from mobile app stores due to the same legislation enacting a stateside ban ofTikTok.
On January 19, a law called Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act—designated H.R.7521—went into effect. This piece of legislation outlaws distribution and maintenance of applications offered by companies that hail out of countries Washington considers adversaries, notably China. Because President-elect Trump is scheduled to be inaugurated a day later, January 20, the Biden administration said it would leave the enforcement of H.R.7521 to its successor. Nevertheless, after theSupreme Court confirmed this de facto TikTok ban, the popular social media platform owned by China-based ByteDance was removed by Google and Apple’s app stores in the late evening hours ET on January 18.
Around the same time, the hit mobile CCGMarvel Snapwas also pulled from both the Google Play Store and iOS App Store in the U.S. Despite being developed by Irvine, California-based Second Dinner,Marvel Snapis published by Nuverse, a ByteDance subsidiary. This connection is what made it fall under the purview of H.R.7521, resulting in its removal from stateside app stores. Second Dinner acknowledged the ban in a social media post, but characterized it as a temporary setback. “We’re actively working on getting the game up as soon as possible and will update you once we have more to share,” a company spokesperson wrote on Twitter.
Second Dinner and Nuverse Were Blindsided By Marvel Snap Ban
A similar message, reviewed by Game Rant, was posted on the game’sofficial Discord server. There, a Second Dinner representative wrote that the ban was a “surprise” to both the developer and Nuverse, suggesting thatMarvel Snap’s removal from U.S. mobile app stores was a decision that came from Google and Apple, or straight from ByteDance. This would explain why neither Second Dinner nor Nuverse said anything about the possibility of the game getting banned in the days preceding its removal.
We’re actively working on getting the game up as soon as possible and will update you once we have more to share.
Marvel Snap Players Aren’t Happy With the Game’s U.S. Ban
While the ban might have blindsided both the game’s developer and publisher,Marvel Snapplayersaren’t happy with this turn of events, with many of them already voicing their displeasure on Discord and social media. Some fans are already pressuring Second Dinner to refund all the money they spent on the game, arguing that they never would have done so had they knownMarvel Snapwould become unplayable just two years following its late 2022 release.
Since Second Dinner seems to believe this removal will be short-lived, it’s unlikely to focus on offering mass refunds to stateside customers in the immediate future.TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew recently thanked President-elect Trumpfor being willing to work on solutions to keep the social media app in the U.S., signaling that the incoming administration may “save TikTok,” which is something that the 47th president promised to do on the campaign trail in mid-2024. In the meantime, it would appear that U.S. gamers can still downloadMarvel Snapvia Steam as of the early morning hours ET on January 19.
WHERE TO PLAY
MARVEL SNAP is a fast-paced, award-winning collectible card game with innovative mechanics that has been called “accessible, and utterly brilliant” and “one of the best card games” today.Build your deck of 12 cards. Each Card represents a Marvel Super Hero or Villain, each with a unique power or ability. The goal of the game is to outsmart and outwit your opponent. Learning how to play only takes a few minutes, and matches only takes 3 minutes.The game is designed so that every match feels different. Play your cards at 50+ different locations across the Marvel Universe, each with iconic game-changing abilities. From Asgard to Wakanda, new locations are introduced regularly to put your creative problem-solving skills to the test.Every player begins with a Free Starter Deck that helps you get started. From there, you can earn new cards to add to your collection simply by playing and mastering the game.Unlike other games in the Collectible Card Game Genre, there are no card packs in MARVEL SNAP. You can Play More to Earn More.
