Snap Looks to Asian Messaging Apps by Launching Social Games
Snap introduces multiplayer, ad-supported games inside its app to boost user engagement, taking inspiration from successful Asian messaging giants like WeChat.
Snap takes inspiration from Asian messaging giants by introducing social gaming directly into its app. This new strategy aims to boost engagement among its existing user base after the company struggles with user losses caused by aggressive cloning from Facebook. Alongside expanding its stories feature to third-party apps and building an AR platform, this gaming push represents a bold new category for the company.
The company rolls out "Mario Party-style" multiplayer games that friends play together without leaving Snapchat. Snap develops these titles through a mix of third-party partnerships and its own in-house team, which it acquires through a recent purchase. Currently, the company supports these games through advertising, though it leaves the door open for potential in-game purchases in the future.
Snap targets this new gaming feature directly at its core demographic of young users. CEO Evan Spiegel highlights that Snapchat reaches 90 percent of 13 to 24-year-olds in the U.S., outpacing both Facebook and Instagram. While these social games likely do not attract brand new users to the platform, they successfully galvanize existing friend groups and increase overall time spent inside the app.