Marvel Snap is unavailable due to the ban on ByteDance apps. | Screenshot: Marvel Snap
The divest-or-ban law aimed at TikTok is also taking down other ByteDance-linked apps, including the popular card game Marvel Snap. The app suddenly cut off access Saturday night, seemingly without warning, surprising gamers who weren’t aware of its connection to ByteDance.
The card game battler set in the Marvel universe is developed by Second Dinner, which is based in California. But the game is published by Nuverse, a company owned by ByteDance. As a result, it’s subject to the same shutdown order.
Just before the calendar turned over to January 19th, 2025, the game disappeared from the App Store for iPad and iPhone players and from Google Play for players on Android.
An in-game message now tells players:
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!
Oddly, unlike TikTok, it doesn’t appear that players weren’t given much warning about the law’s effect, and many people may not have realized it was even connected to ByteDance, including people who were still spending money on in-game items expecting to be able to keep playing it.
Other ByDance apps quickly disappeared from app stores along with TikTok, including Lemon8 and CapCut. The effect on other ByteDance-linked apps is mixed; however, it may take time to remove them. The Lark app that offers a Slack-like collaboration platform was available initially but has now been removed, while other Nuverse-published games, like Earth: Revival – Deep Underground and Ragnarok X: 3rd Anniversary, are still available in the App Store as of this writing, just after midnight ET on the 19th.
