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After being reinstated in the United States, Marvel Snap wants a new publisher

Marvel Snap trailer shot of Miles Morales, America Chaves, Iron Heart, Venom, and Black Panther in a mech.
Second Dinner

After being caught in the crossfire once, Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner is seeking a new publisher. On Saturday, January 19, TikTok users discovered the app was no longer accessible. At the same time, thousands of Marvel Snap players were locked out of their games. The popular app was published by ByteDance’s game-publishing studio Nuverse, and even though ByteDance has since divested itself of the studio, the link was still strong enough to be caught up in wave of app bans.

The removal of Marvel Snap caught its fanbase and developers by surprise, and the team issued a statement letting everyone know that it wasn’t intended, and that the game wasn’t going anywhere.

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Marvel Snap returned to service on January 20, and the studio shared a post announcing more services and a new publisher, although no name was given. The phrasing of the post makes it sound as though the decision is still in its early stages.

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Unfortunately, MARVEL SNAP is temporarily unavailable in U.S. app stores and is unavailable to play in the U.S.

This outage is a surprise to us and wasn't planned. MARVEL SNAP isn’t going anywhere.

We’re actively working on getting the game up as soon as possible and will…

— Second Dinner (@seconddinner) January 19, 2025

At the time of writing, Marvel Snap is still not available for download from the iOS App Store. Many players uninstalled the app during its downtime, thinking the closure was a glitch. Second Dinner has stated that its working on getting the game back in the App Store as soon as possible.

If you’re an everyday player, don’t worry. The team also said, “During this downtime, we realize that many of you are missing out on time-based content, rewards, and Missions. Second Dinner is committed to ensuring tall players are compensated for lost time.”

TikTok has only been granted a 75-day extension. If a new buyer isn’t found during that time, the ban will go through once again — and presumably, Marvel Snap could be locked once more. Second Dinner believes that finding a publisher with no ties to TikTok could ensure the game’s continuation even if another TikTok ban happens.

Patrick Hearn
Patrick Hearn writes about smart home technology like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, smart light bulbs, and more. If it's a…
Marvel Snap is the first game to nail MCU movie tie-ins
Key art for Marvel Snap's Into the Quantum Realm season.

Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania hit theaters this weekend, and you will know that’s the case even if your only connection to comic books is through Marvel Snap. Throughout February, Marvel Snap is in its “Into the Quantum Realm” season. It’s all centered around content themed on that microscopic world from the new Marvel movie. It introduces cards based on Ant-Man movie characters like M.O.D.O.K., Ghost, Stature, and Kang the Conqueror, as well as new locations based on places that have been in Marvel Cinematic Universe movies like the Quantum Realm, Quantum Tunnel, Camp Lehigh, and the Sacred Timeline.
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Developer Second Dinner made similar tie-in seasons for Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever last year. As a fan of both Marvel movies and Marvel video games, these Marvel Snap seasons have done a fantastic job thus far integrating the two. Marvel’s film and gaming efforts have mostly remained separate, often intentionally, since a couple of terrible tie-in games during the MCU's Phase 1.
Often, it feels like comic book games have to be  either direct tie-ins or wholly disconnected from the films in theaters at the time. However, Marvel Snap shows that any comic book game can still feel relevant to what’s happening in theaters in subtle but satisfying ways.
A seamless crossover
With each new Season of Marvel Snap, I love keeping an eye out for what's new in the card game. Because of how wildly different each round can be, new cards and locations can impact games differently every time they appear. M.O.D.O.K., in particular, opens up some interesting strategies as it can discard your entire hand upon its reveal. Before I know it, I find that I'm using new cards and looking up information on the characters and locations I am playing with.
One of the unspoken strengths of Marvel Snap is how casually it can introduce or reexpose its players to a vast amount of characters and locales from the Marvel universe. Not only is that approach good for shedding light on less popular corners of the universe, like The Savage Land, but it also makes it a good marketing and crossover tool for the latest Marvel movie.
M.O.D.O.K., Ant-Man, and the Quantum Realm are on the top of my mind right now, as Marvel Snap is one of the games I play the most. Now, I find myself a bit more excited to see Quantumania than I was based on the trailers, even after mixed reviews. That's just effective marketing.
This is technically not a direct crossover event or a brand-new tie-in game; it’s just exposing me to the right Marvel content to supplement what I’m seeing in the cultural zeitgeist. Then, once Quantumania being in theaters isn’t as relevant, Marvel Snap can move on and continue exploring new parts of the Marvel universe with future seasons.
Finding success
This seasonal tie-in approach Marvel Snap takes is an effective and clever piece of marketing that keeps me engaged with both the game and MCU films. In fact, no superhero game before has been able to tie into movies quite like this. Marvel Strike Force and Contest of Champions character cameos feel a little too ham-fisted, while Sega’s licensed Marvel games from the late 2010s were too much of a mixed bag to ever work. Marvel’s Avengers, a live service game featuring many characters getting new movies and shows, was also never able to get this cadence right.
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As Marvel’s Avengers loses support later this year, its failure to capitalize upon and enhance the game with MCU tie-ins in compelling ways can be seen as one of its many failures. It also raises questions on how future D.C. games will connect to their universe. James Gunn’s current plan seems to incorporate video games heavily, having them filling gaps in his narrative’s story rather than directly tying into a specific film or just serving as supplementary hype material like Marvel Snap.
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Free-to-play card game Marvel Snap has taken the video game industry by storm, bringing even non-comic book fans on board to enjoy its wild antics. It's a game with a satisfying loop, a rewarding sense of progression, and plenty to unlock, without ever feeling overwhelming. Despite this, developer Second Dinner still has lots in store for Marvel Snap players, including a new way to play with friends.

After months of waiting, you can finally pair up with your friends to battle it out online. This is thanks to the new Battle Mode in Marvel Snap, which aims to allow a more casual way to play with anyone you'd like.

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