Is Marvel Snap banned in the US? Possibilities explored

Modified Jan 19, 2025 14:29 IST

Marvel Snap has been banned indefinitely banned in the US (Image via Nuverse) — Marvel Snap has been indefinitely banned in the US (Image via Nuverse)

Nuverse's digital card game, Marvel Snap, was banned in the USA on January 18, 2025, preventing players from logging in to the title. The sudden ban may have been caused by the game's affiliation with ByteDance, the parent company of apps, such as TikTok, Lemon8, and CapCut. This has left players questioning the future of Nuverse's game.

The developers are yet to provide an update on the ban via social media. However, the following message appears when players in the USA open the app:

"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!"

While the error message does not explicitly state why the ban occurred and how long it will last, the developers have assured fans they are working to lift it.

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This article further highlights details of Marvel Snap's US ban.

Why is Marvel Snap banned in the US?

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While the exact cause for Marvel Snap's USA ban hasn't been stated, it is likely caused by the title's association with its parent company, ByteDance, a Chinese internet technology company headquartered in Beijing.

In 2023, Nuverse was a subsidiary of ByteDance. The former was the developer of the game while the latter was a publisher. However, both companies parted ways as part of a restructuring process for ByteDance's gaming business.

Despite this, ByteDance is still the publisher of Marvel Snap. Thus, as a result of the company's ban, Marvel Snap also had to cease its services in the United States.

Also read: 5 best Marvel Snap Cosmo decks

When will the ban lift?

While we do not know when the ban will end, a few speculations can be made based on ByteDance's TikTok, which has also been banned. The current message that appears when TikTok is opened for US users states that the developers expect the ban to be resolved when Donald Trump comes into power. Players can expect something similar with Marvel Snap.

As a workaround to the ban, players can use a virtual private network (VPN) to log into the game at their discretion.

Check out our other articles on Marvel Snap:

Edited by Dinesh Renthlei