Title: Marvel Snap Creator Unaware of Ban, Advocates for VPN Use
The unexpected turn in the Marvel Snap saga is as strange as the TikTok ban that preceded it being taken offline in the US. Players were irate with Second Dancer, the developer behind Marvel Snap, for failing to provide a heads-up about the game's sudden disappearance from app stores and the consequent loss of in-game purchases. The twist? Second Dancer wasn't informed about this move by its parent company, ByteDance, either.
Marvel Snap's official Twitter account broke the news, assuring players that the game wasn't disappearing permanently and that the team was working to restore it as soon as possible. In the interim, Marvel Snap's CDO Ben Brode suggested using a VPN to bypass the ban by appearing to play from Canada.
The fallout from the TikTok ban, implemented just yesterday, is responsible for this shocking turn of events. Despite ByteDance divesting from its Nuverse gaming arm previously, the move still resulted in the entirety of its apps, including Marvel Snap, being pulled from app stores.
The lack of communication between ByteDance and Second Diner is alarming, given the potential impact on Second Dinner's team and its dedicated fanbase who invested in game currency. The running theory is that this will be short-lived, with the ban's resolution pending on Donald Trump's presidency, which may delay or even reverse the ban to keep TikTok operational.
Now that Trump, who once advocated for TikTok's ban, is being cited in the ban message and invited to his inauguration, the situation is even more surreal. The CEO of Stone Studio Arts, Marvel Snap's publisher, has assured players that a solution is in the works. Let's see if players receive updates soon.

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Sources:
- https://www.gameinformer.com/2024/04/28/marvel-snap-is-officially-gone-from-us-app-stores
- https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/02/technology/tiktok-ban-us.html
- https://www.theverge.com/2024/05/01/22834893/tiktok-ban-app-store-bytedance-us
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/04/30/tiktok-ban-supreme-court-app-store-byte-dance/
The Marvel Snap community was further upset when Ben Brode suggested using a VPN to circumvent the ban, a method inspired by the 'Marvel snap ban' on the game in some regions. However, the long-term impact of the TikTok ban on ByteDance's Nuverse gaming arm, including Marvel Snap, remains uncertain.