Marvel Snap is back online in the US after being caught up in the TikTok ban that came into effect for a day at the end of the Biden administration, and developer Second Dinner has now said that they are looking for a new partner and publisher to ensure that the game is unaffected by any future trade wars and legislation.
Chief Development Officer and Second Dinner Co-Founder Ben Brode said on BlueSky:
WHEW. MARVEL SNAP is back online in the U.S. But to make sure this NEVER happens again, we’re working to bring more services in-house and partner with a new publisher. This is the start of a new era for MARVEL SNAP.
We know this probably leaves you with even more questions than answers. We appreciate your patience, but in the meantime enjoy playing MARVEL SNAP.
We’ll continue to update with more information as soon as possible!
The TikTok ban, a part of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, wasn’t just about banning TikTok, but any app created, owned, published or controlled by Chinese tech company ByteDance, or other companies branded as foreign adversary controlled. While Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner is an independent studio based in California, the game is published by ByteDance subsidiary Nuverse.
The takedown of Marvel Snap came as a complete surprise to pretty much everyone – the developers included – and has seen the game removed from digital storefronts looking to comply with the law. Within hours, it became clear that service would be restored, off the back of comments from incoming President Trump saying that he would grant the companies a 90 day reprieve to sell TikTok or find some other workaround – he’d actually said this prior to the service being cut and the ban coming into effect, mind you.
Source: BlueSky
