On January 19, TikTok, a popular social media platform, temporarily halted its operations in the United States, causing an unexpected ripple effect on Marvel Snap, a well-known card game developed by Second Dinner Studios and published by Nuverse, a ByteDance subsidiary. This sudden blockage led to Marvel Snap being unavailable for a full 24 hours, leaving many players unable to access the game.
Although the game is now back online, it's still in the process of restoring full functionality. Currently, in-game purchases remain unavailable, causing frustration among the player base. In response, Second Dinner Studios is considering a change in publishers and plans to transition some services to internal resources to prevent similar disruptions in the future. This strategy was outlined in an official statement on Platform X.
The root cause of this disruption stems from political risks. TikTok received a 90-day extension to sell 50% of its business to a local owner. If this deal does not go through, there is a risk that TikTok and its associated projects, including Marvel Snap, could face further blockages.
Second Dinner Studios has assured players that they will provide more information in the near future. Despite the game being accessible on Steam for PC users, many players are still experiencing authorization issues. The developers at Second Dinner expressed their surprise at the incident and are diligently working to restore full access to the game.
In an official statement on Platform X, the team reassured players, stating, "Marvel Snap is here to stay. We're working hard to restore the game as quickly as possible, and we'll keep players informed of our progress."
One of the most frustrating aspects of this situation was the lack of prior warning to players. Many continued to spend money on in-game purchases, unaware of the impending lockout, which has added to the overall discontent among the player community.
