Cheddar reports that Snap may be launching a new gaming platform for Snapchat as early as next month at the company’s Snap Partner Summit in Los Angeles on April 4th. Then The Information reported last Summer that Snap was working on a gaming program. And CNET reported that Snap also bought an Australian game studio named Prettygreat back in January. Essentially, all signs point to yes, this is happening.
This new platform would be a bigger leap into the gaming world than the company has ever attempted before, and it would allow outside developers to create games that would live inside the Snapchat app.
As to why Snap would want games in Snapchat, the answer is pretty simple: more money and more user engagement. Much like how Facebook Messenger did when they featured games directly in their app for years, adding games to Snapchat could offer a new source of revenue for Snap from developers looking to place games in the app, from advertisers looking to place ads in games, and maybe even from iPhone and Android-style in-game purchases as well. Plus, there’s the simple matter of monopolizing people’s attention: users who play games in the Snapchat app aren’t browsing Instagram.
Snap has declined to comment on the Cheddar report, but if the Snapchat gaming platform is real, we’ll all find out more on April 4th.
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