The extremely popular collectible card game Marvel Snap suddenly became inaccessible to United States users following the TikTok ban due to the implementation of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act (PAFACA). Here's the message that greets anyone who tries to log in (also available on social channels):
Unfortunately, MARVEL SNAP is temporarily unavailable on U.S. 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 anywhere. We're actively working on getting the game up as soon as possible and will update you once we have more to share.
The reason is pretty straightforward: TikTok creator ByteDance owns Nuverse, the publisher of the game. All apps owned by ByteDance were banned, including Marvel Snap. However, since the game itself isn't related to TikTok at all, there may be enough wiggle room for them to restore service.
Developed by Second Dinner, the free-to-play game launched in October 2022 for Windows PC, Android, and iOS devices. It featured over 170 Marvel characters on release, and the roster has greatly increased over time due to weekly additions.
Gameplay in Marvel Snap isn't too complicated. Each player has a deck of 12 cards, each one representing a Marvel character with a cost, power level, and possibly a special ability. At the beginning of each round, players simultaneously place one or more cards face down in one of three locations. The locations are randomly assigned for each game, and each location has a unique associated effect. At the end of each round, the cards are revealed and their special abilities are triggered. Whoever has the highest power in a given location wins that location; the goal is to win two of the three locations.
Its relative simplicity won over many fans. Last we heard, Marvel Snap had over 22 million players and has earned more than $200 million in revenue since launch.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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