On January 19th, a temporary US shutdown of TikTok unexpectedly impacted Marvel Snap, the popular card game published by Nuverse (a ByteDance subsidiary). The game, developed by Second Dinner Studios, became inaccessible for a full 24 hours. While service has been restored, in-app purchases remain unavailable, and full functionality is still being actively addressed.
This disruption stems from the ongoing political uncertainty surrounding TikTok's US operations. The company was granted a mere 90-day extension to divest 50% of its US business to a local owner. Failure to meet this deadline could result in further blockades affecting TikTok and related ventures like Marvel Snap.
In response to this unforeseen event, and to mitigate future risks, Second Dinner Studios announced on Platform X that they are exploring alternative publishers and transitioning some services to internal management. An official statement reassured players: “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.”
While Steam users experienced less disruption, many players reported authorization problems. The lack of prior warning caused significant frustration, particularly for those who continued making in-game purchases before the service interruption. Second Dinner has promised further updates.
