It’s long been rumored that Snap was working on a gaming platform, and a report today says that the company will announce third-party Snapchat games next month.
Games are expected to run inside the Snapchat app, and the company will reportedly show off examples from several developers …
Cheddar says that the announcement will be made on April 4.
The mobile game platform, internally codenamed “Project Cognac,” will feature a handful of games from outside developers designed to work specifically in the Snapchat app, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The new games initiative will be unveiled at Snap’s first-ever summit for content and developer partners in Los Angeles on April 4, the person said, adding that video initiatives like more original shows will also be announced. An invitation to the event that was seen by Cheddar includes the tagline, “Less talk. More play.” — a nod to the gaming platform.
Snapchat started offering its own augmented reality games almost a year ago, known as Snappables.
Snappables will be found in the latest version of Snapchat alongside Lenses — long press on the view finder when taking a selfie in the app, then swipe to the left for games instead of right for filters — and Snapchat says it will regularly introduce new games every week.
Since then, it has invested in at least two gaming companies, reports Cheddar.
To help bolster its forthcoming push into games, Snap last year acquired a small Australian gaming studio called Prettygreat for $8.6 million, according to financial documents filed publicly with the Australian government that were obtained by Cheddar. One of the employees of Prettygreat was behind the hit mobile games “Fruit Ninja” and “Jetpack Joyride.”
CNET earlier reported that Snap had invested an undisclosed amount in Prettygreat, and Business Insider reported a year ago that Snap had acquired a web-based game engine startup called PlayCanvas. The Information first reported that Snap was working on a gaming platform in mid-2018.
Tencent is one of the developers on record as wanting to work with Snap. The company moved into iOS gaming a year ago, with a mobile version of PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments