On January 19th, a temporary shutdown of TikTok in the US unexpectedly impacted Marvel Snap, the popular card game published by Nuverse, a ByteDance subsidiary. This 24-hour outage, while now resolved, left in-game purchases temporarily unavailable. The game is currently undergoing restoration efforts to fully restore functionality.
This incident prompted Second Dinner Studios, Marvel Snap's developer, to announce plans to explore alternative publishing options and transition some services internally, as detailed in an official Platform X statement. This strategic shift aims to mitigate future disruptions stemming from the ongoing political uncertainties surrounding TikTok’s US operations. TikTok’s 90-day extension to sell a 50% stake to a local owner leaves the game vulnerable to further blockages should the agreement fail.
Second Dinner Studios has promised further updates. While many players experienced authorization problems, PC users via Steam remained unaffected. The unexpected nature of the shutdown, particularly the lack of warning and continued in-app purchases prior to the outage, caused significant frustration among players. The developers expressed surprise at the event and reiterated their commitment to restoring full service, stating on Platform X: “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.”
