Marvel Snap Publisher Reportedly Moving Away from Games

Highlights

• Marvel Snap publisher, Nuverse, will be restructured and moved away from video games.
• ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is looking to divest itself of properties like Marvel Snap and sell off development studios like Moonton.
• A lack of commercial success of titles published by Nuverse is reportedly one of the reasons for the restructuring.

Marvel Snap publisher Nuverse, a branch of TikTok parent company ByteDance, will be moved away from video games after a restructuring scheduled to take place in the coming months. Developed by Second Dinner, Marvel Snap released in October 2022 and quickly become a top-ranking free-to-play card battler set in the popular comic universe.

TikTok’s parent company established Nuverse as its game publishing arm in 2019 and has also acquired a number of developers in the time since. In what is still considered one of the most expensive video game acquisitions at $4 billion, ByteDance took ownership of Moonton, the studio behind the Mobile Legends franchise, in 2021. But in mid-November 2023, rumors began making the rounds that the conglomerate was looking for options to sell off the developer.

Now, after two rounds of layoffs at ByteDance in 2022, the company has confirmed to Reuters that it will be restructuring its gaming arm, Nuverse, and restructuring it to pull out of video games. The spokesperson didn’t go into further details but explained the decision by stating that ByteDance “regularly review our businesses and make adjustments to centre on long-term strategic growth areas. Following a recent review, we’ve made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business.”

The reason for this course correction is reportedly the lack of commercial success of the games published by Nuverse, including Marvel Snap. Anonymous sources at ByteDance also told Reuters that the company has no plans to return to the video game space, and employees will be told to cease all work on any unreleased projects on Monday, November 27. The restructuring at Nuverse will also possibly lead to more layoffs or transfers to other areas within the company.

Following a recent review, we’ve made the difficult decision to restructure our gaming business.

As for Marvel Snap and other games in Nuverse’s portfolio that have already been released, such as One Piece: The Voyage and Ragnarok X: Next Generation, ByteDance will apparently begin looking for ways to divest itself of those properties. Additionally, development studios like Moonton will be sold off, and the virtual reality company Pico has already experienced a downsizing of its team. However, the sources clarified that casual games available on TikTok and titles developed by Ohayoo, whose work is released on Chinese sister app Douyin, will not be affected by the restructuring.

Marvel Snap is considered one of the best games set in the Marvel universe, sitting comfortably beside releases like Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. The game received overall positive reviews on launch and has already made its way into esports tournaments. Its success hopefully means that developer Second Dinner will face no issues finding another publisher for the collectible card game.