Hello and welcome to a special super-sized edition of Burning Questions entirely devoted to The Blip (a.k.a. the recent shutdown of Marvel Snap in the United States). We're going to run through 13 questions related to the outage.
1) What happened?
Early Sunday morning access to Marvel Snap was blocked for anyone trying to access it from an American IP address. This was due to recent legislation designed to target ByteDance, the company that owns TikTok. Snap was also removed from the Apple App store and the Google Play store. Access has since been restored, but it still remains unavailable in the app stores.
Check out Absalon’s play by play of the ban and outage here
2) Why was Marvel Snap affected if they aren't owned by ByteDance?
ByteDance doesn't own Marvel Snap, they own NuVerse, which is the company that publishes Marvel Snap. They don't own Marvel Snap—Second Dinner is the developer. Check out this Twitch clip from ItsGuestGaming that breaks it down:
https://www.twitch.tv/itsguestgaming/v/2358676683?sr=a&t=13s
3) Why was there no advance warning?
Second Dinner didn't know in advance. From public statements made on social media by Ben Brode and the official Marvel Snap accounts, it sounds like Second Dinner was aware of the situation, was assured they wouldn't be affected, and were affected anyway. There would be no benefit for Marvel Snap to keep it secret and probably no benefit to ByteDance to inform them.
4) Is this likely to happen again in 75 days or 90 days or some other time down the line?
It's unlikely. The main reason Second Dinner appears to be separating from their current (already former?) publisher NuVerse, is specifically to prevent this from happening again. With a new publisher, there is no reason to expect another such incident.
5) How damaging is this going to be to Marvel Snap?
Being down in their largest market for nearly two days is going to have a negative impact. Games like Marvel Snap rely on habit and momentum to drive engagement. There is likely to be a lot of player attrition as a result of the outage. Not being available in the app stores will be a compounding problem the longer it goes on. In the short term, this will be a major issue for the game and Second Dinner as a company. Whether or not this is damaging long-term or if it can be overcome, depends on how the company responds and how changing publishers will affect the game.
6) What are the implications of the change of publishers?
While we don't know everything that NuVerse was responsible for and how all of the responsibilities and tasks were divided between them and Second Dinner, there has been a feeling among some in the community that NuVerse has been a hindrance at times. However, NuVerse provides infrastructural support that might prove hard for Second Dinner to extricate itself from or replace.
Among aspects of the game that could see changes with a new publisher are: marketing, monetization, the webshop, the creator program, customer service, community events, and compensation. We don't know exactly what could be affected, but there's a chance it will be wide-ranging.
7) Does the publisher change mean we could get competitive tournaments with cash prizing or other features?
It's entirely possible! We know that these exist in the Chinese version of the game and that that is largely because their version utilizes a different publisher (NetEase) and those efforts are largely funded and organized by the publisher. The change in publisher could have a variety of unexpected effects and could serve as a springboard for Second Dinner to improve player experience and perception in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, community events.
8) When will the game return to the app stores?
This has become the million-dollar question. We don't know and it may depend on a variety of factors, including the transfer to another publisher and the approval process of the app stores, especially the Apple App store which is traditionally slower than the Google Play Store.
We know that Apple won't return TikTok to the App Store until it's sold to a U.S. buyer.
In short, as long as NuVerse remains the publisher, the app stores are unlikely to allow Snap to return. However, if Second Dinner is able to find a new publisher quickly, or an alternative way to publish the game, Snap could reappear in App stores faster than TikTok or CapCut. It is vital that Snap find a new publisher quickly because TikTok and ByteDance are not guaranteed any level of legal safety until the law is repealed, and any kind of file hosting services or app stores won't want to incur any risks by working with Snap as long as they're tied to ByteDance. However, this could prove tricky, since NuVerse is involved in how Snap is hosted on AWS.
9) Will we get compensation for the outage?
Yes. Second Dinner has already stated that there will be some sort of compensation and that they are particularly conscious of the loss of time-sensitive rewards and resources that might have been missed.
10) Will players who accessed the game via VPN get the same compensation?
My feeling (as someone who used a VPN last weekend) is that it's totally fine if players who were wholly unable to access the game get different compensation than those who had access. However, given Second Dinner's track record for generous compensation for technical issues in the past, I expect everyone to be pretty pleased by their compensation.
A note on VPN usage: As the political landscape continues to shift in the United States, VPNs and other aspects of Internet privacy are going to become increasingly important. Though it's no longer needed to access Marvel Snap, I urge you to learn to use these types of products and get used to their intricacies. You may need them in the future. Remember: the use or recommendation of a VPN doesn't imply they will be used to access anything in particular; they have a variety of uses. Personally, I feel comfortable both using and recommending them.
11) Where can I find analysis of the political aspects of this situation?
Check out the recent podcast by KMBest and GerryT for opinions, analysis, and background on the political aspects of the situation. I am in lockstep with all of the political statements KM made in this video and I highly recommend it if you are interested in that side of things.
12) What steps has Second Dinner already taken to extricate themselves from ByteDance and NuVerse?
We are unlikely to know when they have fully cut ties and our first indication that it's complete will likely be Snap's return to the app stores. However, Second Dinner did recently put up a job posting for a position that is designed to increase user numbers. This is one of the first steps in shifting some of NuVerse’s responsibilities in-house. Could Second Dinner self-publish the game, even temporarily? In other words, it looks like the process is in full swing behind the scenes.
13) Should I worry about making purchases while the publisher of the game isn't known?
I know there are quite a few people who feel anxious about making any purchases while the publisher is in flux. I certainly get that. It's fine to wait for an official announcement about the new publisher before handing over your money. Personally, I anticipate the publisher change as being a net positive, so my confidence in the game is probably increased rather than diminished by this event. I hope Second Dinner is able to navigate Snap through this unusual situation and come out stronger for it.
Come find me on Bluesky (@scosco)! If you have any more questions about The Blip let me know in the comments below and I'll try to track down answers for as many as I am able.