If there's a contender for the biggest news to take place over the weekend, for better or for worse, one of the top picks would have to be TikTok going offline in the United States. This ban, which had been on the cards for a while following a congressional act that targeted it as a "foreign adversary controlled application," seemingly took effect on Sunday.
Of course, you're likely aware that president-elect Donald Trump quickly pledged to reinstate the service, and ByteDance promptly brought their popular social media app back online. However, the same cannot be said for some of its other applications.
Take, for instance, Marvel Snap, the equally popular comic-themed card battler. As reported over the weekend, Marvel Snap, along with other releases from ByteDance subsidiaries like Moonton's Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, was abruptly halted in the United States with a message stating it had been banned.
The message from TikTok's owner, ByteDance, was clear: take all of their offerings or none at all. The real shock? It seems that developer Second Dinner was not forewarned about this move, and they've been scrambling on Twitter to mitigate the damage over the past 24 hours. Despite this, they've promised to restore Marvel Snap to service swiftly, but this situation raises some troubling and complex questions.
Catch!You don't need a degree in political science (which I incidentally do not have) to see that TikTok going offline and its pointed message singling out Trump as its potential savior was likely a strategic move by ByteDance to generate buzz. This approach appears to have paid off, allowing them to dramatically return to the U.S. market.
However, this political maneuvering also affected the aforementioned gaming releases, leaving some of ByteDance's developers in a lurch. Second Dinner has had to offer lucrative free rewards to compensate players for the downtime, hoping to have the game back online by the time of publishing.
While I doubt this will lead Second Dinner to end their lucrative partnership with ByteDance, it's unlikely to boost their confidence. The message seems clear: mobile gaming is less important to ByteDance than their algorithm-driven social media platform.
Game overThis isn't the first time ByteDance has indicated that gaming takes a backseat to their social media endeavors. Back in 2023, their gaming division underwent massive layoffs, canceling many projects before they could be released.
Since then, Marvel Snap seemed to signal a shift towards partnerships rather than in-house development. However, such a 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 the release of NetEase's Marvel Rivals and its crossover collaboration earlier this month. ByteDance may have called the bluff of politicians, but players, developers, and IP holders are likely to be less forgiving.
They think it's all over…Yet, there are already whispers that ByteDance is just the beginning. Tencent, NetEase, and other Chinese gaming companies could be next in line. The FTC has already targeted MiHoYo over loot boxes, and even this high-profile dispute and its anticlimactic resolution might not deter the next politician with a vendetta against gaming.
What might happen next? In the case of Marvel Snap, I noticed many people, especially older folks who were indifferent to TikTok, suddenly paying attention when their favorite card battler was removed. As clever and unexpected as it was, ByteDance's strategy did pay off, setting a concerning precedent.
After all, how will people react when their favorite pastime becomes subject to political whims from Washington and their adversaries abroad? There's a saying about bread and circuses that could backfire spectacularly on everyone involved.
