On January 19, TikTok, the popular social media platform, temporarily ceased operations in the US, causing an unexpected impact on Marvel Snap, a well-known card game developed by Second Dinner Studios and released by Nuverse, a division of ByteDance, TikTok's parent company. Marvel Snap was unavailable for 24 hours due to this blockage but has since returned online. However, the game is still in the process of restoring full access, and in-game purchases remain unavailable.

In response to this disruption, the developers are considering a switch in publishers and plan to move some services to internal resources to prevent future incidents. This decision stems from political risks, as TikTok has only been granted a 90-day extension to sell 50% of its business to a local owner. If the agreement falls through, TikTok and associated projects like Marvel Snap could face reblocking.

Second Dinner Studios has promised to provide further updates. Despite the game's return, many players are still experiencing authorization issues. Interestingly, PC owners could still access the game on Steam. The developers at Second Dinner were taken aback by the incident and are actively working to fully restore the game. An official statement on Platform X reassures 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.”

One of the most frustrating aspects of this situation was the lack of warning to players. Many were unaware of the potential lockout and continued to spend money on in-game purchases, unaware of the impending disruption.