It's turning out to be a tumultuous weekend for fans of Marvel Snap, but unfortunately, not for the reasons they'd hoped. The popular comic-themed card battler has been pulled from release in the United States following the ban of social media app TikTok. ByteDance, TikTok's publisher and developer, and also the parent company of Marvel Snap's developers Second Dinner, has seemingly pulled many of their gaming releases in what appears to be a protest against the ban.
For those who keep up with political news, the TikTok ban has been a significant topic of discussion. It's been labeled as a "foreign adversary controlled application" by American politicians, and while many refer to it solely as a TikTok ban, it actually extends to all applications published by ByteDance and its subsidiaries.
ByteDance's sudden move can be seen as a form of malicious compliance, and it appears to have successfully stirred up anger among Marvel Snap fans, who might have otherwise overlooked the political action.
DisassembledThe decision to pull Marvel Snap and other ByteDance-owned apps is likely to continue generating a significant backlash among fans. Whether this will have any political impact remains to be seen, but ByteDance's lack of advance warning to fans might have been a deliberate strategy to provoke a strong reaction.
For those interested in understanding the ban better, the official text is available on the Congress website.
If you're fortunate enough to be in an unaffected region, you can still enjoy Marvel Snap and even check out our tier list of all Marvel Snap cards ranked by power to build a top-tier deck!
