Snapchat Gets into Gaming with Six Upcoming Titles

By Danni White - Published on April 16, 2019
Snapchat Gets into Gaming with Six Upcoming Titles

Snapchat recently announced that it is launching a new gaming service called Snap Games, which allows users to play against their friends in a real-time environment.

The announcement was made during the company’s Partner Summit, hosted in Los Angeles, where they disclosed that Snapchat will be releasing six games exclusively created for the platform.

Users will be able to access the games via Snapchat’s chat feature which has been upgraded to include a rocket button. When pressed, the button launches a game which can be played against friends.

Are the games free?

While the games will be free to play but users will be required to watch controversial six-second advertisements during the gaming sessions which could become disruptive during gameplay.

At this time, there is no word of in-app purchase options but that may be possible in the future as third-party gaming developers wish to monetize creations on the platform.

During the game, users will be able to see which friends are playing, chat via text while playing and there is a talk live voice chat feature like those found on consoles.

What are the Six Games?

Snap Games launched six games with five of them being created by third-party developers. The six games created include:

  • Bitmoji Party – play as your animated version in a variety of quick and zany small games.
  • Tiny Royale – created by Zynga, you and your squad battle to the top in the petite Battle Royale action, similar to Fortnite.
  • Snake Squad – developed by Game Closure, you work with your squad to be the last team standing.
  • C.A.T.S. Drift Race – launched by ZeptoLab, you drift around a track while speeding past friends to win.
  • Zombie Rescue Squad – created by PikPok, your team rescues survivors within a zombie-ridden city.
  • Alphabear Hustle – developed by Spry Fox, you collaborate with your friends to quickly for words in order to construct the village.

During the briefing, a Snap executive mentioned that “…friendship is also about the experience that you have together, and something that we’ve always been really fascinated by is how games give us a really great excuse to come together with our friends and share moments with them and share experiences with them.”

Snap accentuated the inclusive-nature of their platform which also lowered the barriers of entry. With all games hosted on the app, friends can easily jump into games while still communicating.

The platform allows developers to create games that can accommodate a maximum of 32 friends simultaneously. In turn for the development, the gaming library offers developers a revenue share of the company.

The Snap Games launch is not a complete surprise considering the parent company, Snap, acquired an Australian gaming study in 2018 and have acquired several other small acquisitions.

In early 2018, Snapchat launched a small augmented reality game called Snappables which was available from within the app.

This was a sensible move for Snap considering mobile gaming comprised 47% of the overall $63.2 billion gaming industry revenue. Also, those engaged in gaming equates to increased user retention from within the platform.

Danni White | Danni White is the CEO of DW Creative Consulting Agency, a digital marketing firm specializing in elevating the visibility of small-to-midsize businesses and nonprofits. She is the author of 17 books and hosts the #Hashtags and Habits Podcast, which merges digital marketing, entrepreneurship, and personal growth.

Danni White | Danni White is the CEO of DW Creative Consulting Agency, a digital marketing firm specializing in elevating the visibility of small-to-midsize busi...

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