US users woke up to a shock on January 19, 2025, discovering that Marvel Snap, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Capcut had all been banned. This is because all three are owned by Bytedance, the company that owns TikTok. They seem to have been taken down as a precaution by the company.
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But, with a high likelihood of TikTok being unbanned, at least temporarily, by January 21, will these games come back?
Chances are that Marvel Snap, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and Capcut will all be restored in the US at the same time that TikTok is restored by the Trump administration. He has signalled that he would extend the ban date for TikTok’s owner, Bytedance, and if that happens, all these other apps and games would also likely become available again for US users.
The US’ desire to ban TikTok and scrutinise Chinese companies more closely makes things a lot more worrying for the video game industry. A number of the most popular games are developed in China or made by developers who are partially or entirely owned by Chinese companies.
This includes Marvel Rivals, which is developed by NetEase. Tencent owns League of Legends and Valorant creator Riot Games. It has also invested in Epic Games (Fortnite), Ubisoft, FromSoftware, Larian Studios (Baldur’s Gate 3), Grinding Gear Games (Path of Exile 2) Warframe developer Digital Extremes (via Leyou Technologies), and more. Let’s not forget Hoyoverse too.
It’s definitely worrying, as all these developers have a large portion of their user base in the US, and if that is suddenly cut off, a chunk of their income and profits also is. It would likely take years to get to that point, but it isn’t impossible in the current climate.
For even more on the TikTok ban, check out how the entertainment world is reacting and Trump’s plans for an extension once he takes office.
The post Here’s why ‘Marvel Snap’ and ‘Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’ are banned in the US and if they will return appeared first on NME.
