Marvel Snap Publisher To Be Closed Down, Staff Laid Off By ByteDance

Marvel Snap publisher Nuverse will be restructured by its parent company, ByteDance, according to those close to the matter. It's reported that ByteDance will be announcing their plans for their gaming brand, as the Chinese tech company is looking to exit the gaming industry with no intentions of returning.

This restructuring of Nuverse will see hundreds of job losses, slowly cease IPs that are in development, and look to potentially sell off its existing titles. One of these existing tiles includes the card battler game Marvel Snap, first released in 2022 for mobile devices, followed by a Steam release in August 2023.

27th November 2023 Update: Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner issued a statement following the news regarding Nuverse's restructuring plans confirmed by ByteDance. The original reporting continues below.

Marvel Snap developer Second Dinner issued a statement on the game's Twitter account regarding the recent news of plans to restructure and close down publisher Nuverse. The developer stated that while they have seen player concerns regarding the future of the card battler game, they provided some optimism that the lights will remain on for Second Dinner.

Dear SNAPPERS,
Some of our players have expressed their concerns regarding reported structural changes at Nuverse.
We wish to thank you for your concern and assure you that regardless of any changes at Nuverse, SNAP will continue to operate and flourish in the future!

— MARVEL SNAP (@MARVELSNAP) November 27, 2023

According to a comment made by a spokesperson to Reuters, "We 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 creation of Nuverse was an attempt to thrust ByteDance into the gaming sector, looking to compete with major rival Tencent. While it saw some success with Vi_Games' Crystal of Atlan and Second Dinner's Marvel Snap; however, the latter is being viewed as not a commercial success for Nuverse.

It's being reported that ByteDance has slowly been closing down its studios and cutting jobs in an effort to refocus its attention on its short-form video hosting services like TikTok and Douyin and e-commerce. Thus far, ByteDance has already conducted lay-offs at its virtual reality (VR) unit, Pico, with around a quarter of jobs reduced in a report by South China Morning Post (SCMP); however, the specific amount has yet to be determined.

Other companies affected by this restructuring include Moonton Technology, where ByteDance is reportedly looking for potential buyers. Unaffected by this restructuring is Chinese studio Ohayoo, whose games are featured on the short-form video hosting service Douyin, and all games featured on the platform won't be impacted.

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