TikTok Ban Impacts Marvel Snap: What's Next?

If there's a contender for the biggest news to take place over the weekend, one of the top picks would have to be TikTok going offline in the United States. This ban, long anticipated due to a congressional act labeling it as a "foreign adversary controlled application," finally took effect on Sunday. By now, you're likely aware that President-elect Donald Trump swiftly pledged to restore its service, and ByteDance quickly brought their popular social media app back from its self-imposed exile. However, not all ByteDance applications have enjoyed such a high-profile return.

Take Marvel Snap, for instance, the equally popular comic-themed card battler. As we reported over the weekend, Marvel Snap, along with other releases from ByteDance subsidiaries like Moonton's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, were also taken offline in the United States with a clear message of being banned. The message from TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, was unmistakable: accept all their offerings or receive none at all.

The real surprise? Developer Second Dinner, responsible for Marvel Snap, appeared to have been caught off guard by this move. They've been actively managing the fallout on Twitter over the past 24 hours, promising to bring Marvel Snap back online as soon as possible. This situation, however, raises significant and troubling questions about the implications of such actions.

Catch!You don't need a degree in political science to see that TikTok's shutdown and its pointed message singling out Trump as its potential savior was a calculated move by ByteDance to stir conversation. This strategy seems to have paid off, enabling them to make a dramatic return to the U.S. market. Yet, this political maneuver also swept up other gaming releases, leaving some of ByteDance's developers, like Second Dinner, to handle the aftermath. Second Dinner has committed to offering lucrative free rewards to compensate players for the downtime once Marvel Snap is back in service, which they hope will be by the time of this article's publication.

While it's unlikely that Second Dinner will abandon their profitable partnership with ByteDance, this incident likely hasn't bolstered their confidence. The message seems clear: mobile gaming takes a backseat to ByteDance's primary focus on its algorithm-driven social media platform.

Game overThis isn't the first time ByteDance has shown that gaming is secondary to their social media ventures. In 2023, they laid off hundreds of employees from their gaming division, cancelling many unlaunched projects. Since then, Marvel Snap was seen as a sign that ByteDance might be shifting towards partnerships rather than in-house development. However, this significant breach of trust could make other developers and publishers wary of getting entangled in ByteDance's next political controversy.

Disney, too, might not be pleased, especially after the recent boost from NetEase's Marvel Rivals and its mobile crossover collaboration. ByteDance may have outmaneuvered politicians, but players, developers, and IP holders are unlikely to be as forgiving.

They think it’s all over…Rumors suggest ByteDance's situation could be just the beginning, with other Chinese gaming giants like Tencent and NetEase potentially facing similar scrutiny. The FTC has already targeted MiHoYo over loot boxes, and even this highly publicized dispute and its anticlimactic resolution might not deter the next politician from targeting the gaming industry.

What might happen next? The sudden removal of beloved games like Marvel Snap has made many, particularly older players, take notice. ByteDance's strategic move, though effective, sets a concerning precedent. People's favorite pastimes could become pawns in geopolitical games, reminding us of the saying about bread and circuses, which could backfire on all involved parties.