Marvel Snap is now unavailable for American fans to access, thanks to a major update from the social media landscape.
Marvel Snap is a widely popular digital collectible card game featuring dozens of iconic Marvel characters (including Nick Fury, who was used to help promote the game). It allows fans to collect digital cards featuring Marvel legends and go to battle against other users to see who comes out on top.
The game was initially released worldwide on October 18, 2022, quickly becoming one of the most popular mobile titles available. However, seemingly out of nowhere, Marvel Snap's 26-month lifespan appeared to come to a dramatic end.
Marvel Snap Banned in the USA
The Marvel Snap application/video game is now officially banned in the United States of America after the controversial ban of the TikTok social media website.
Users trying to access Marvel Snap on Saturday, January 18 were shocked to see a message from the development team explaining that the application had been banned in the U.S.:
"Sorry, 'Marvel Snap' isn't available right now.
A law banning Marvel Snap has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can't use Marvel Snap for now. Rest assured, we're working to restore our service in the U.S. Please stay tuned!"
The reason for this ban, presumably, is that the game's developer, Nuverse, is owned by ByteDance, who notably also owns TikTok. As of the evening of January 18, TikTok was banned for anyone trying to access the app in the USA.
A message announcing the ban on TikTok itself noted that the company will work with President-elect Donald Trump on a solution when he takes office on Monday, January 20 (see more on the 2024 United States presidential election here).
Will Marvel Snap Come Back for U.S. Players?
According to reports and company announcements, President-elect Trump is said to be working with Nuverse on a solution to reinstate TikTok in the USA. However, this seemingly will not happen until at least the day he is inducted into office for his second term (January 20), and it likely would not happen right away.
For the time being, as long as Nuverse is prohibited from being utilized in the USA, Marvel Snap will remain unavailable for fans to play or download from any digital platform. This comes as quite a disappointing update, considering how strongly the game is still performing against heavy competition.
Meanwhile, Marvel fans are diving hard into the newly introduced Marvel Rivals (complete with nearly three dozen playable characters), which went live on December 5, 2024.
Marvel Rivals is currently teaming up with the upcoming Captain America: Brave New World for new promotional material being added to the game.
Whether Marvel Snap ever rejoins the marketplace is still a mystery, although its absence is leaving many disappointed with the state of affairs in the world of social media.
