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Snap Games, Audience Network and Snap Kit: All the big announcements from Snapchat's first Partner Summit

Snap Games, Audience Network and Snap Kit: All the big announcements from Snapchat's first Partner Summit

Yesterday saw the first ever Snap Partner Summit take place as Snap made a flurry of reveals to set up its plans for growth for the year ahead.

A new games platform, new AR and camera search experiences, and the Snap Audience Network were just a few of the announcements made for Snapchat.

To help you keep up with all the news coming out of the event, we've put together a handy roundup to fill you in on the big reveals.


Click here to view the list »
  • 1 Snap Games

    After years of speculation, Snap finally unveiled its Snap Games platform, which offers real-time multiplayer gaming for the app’s 186 million daily active users.

    Initial development partners include Spry Fox (Alphabear Hustle), ZeptoLab (Crash Arena Turbo Stars Drift Race), Game Closure (Snake Squad), Zynga (Tiny Royale) and PikPok (Zombie Rescue Squad). Snap has also built a game in-house for the platform called Bitmoji Party.

    Snap plans to open up the platform to more developers over the coming months.

    Games on the platform will be able to monetise through ads using Snapo’s non-skippable, six-second Commercials ad format.


  • 2 New Snap Originals

    Snap has announced a new flurry of Snap Originals - premium shows that are exclusive to the platform.

    These will be released from May 2019 onwards and the lineup includes comedy series Commanders, a news roundup show from BuzzFeed, social commentary White black and teen soap Can’t Talk Now, and more.

    Previous Snap Originals that have been renewed are Endless Summer, Deep Creek, and The Dead Girls Detective Agency.

    Endless Summer is said to have been watched by more than 28 million unique viewers, while 40 per cent of those who tuned into the first episode of The Dead Girls Detective Agency went on to watch the full season.

    Here's the full rundown of the new shows coming to the platform:

    • Two Sides - (New Form) - A young couple navigates a breakup in this innovative series told from both characters’ points of view at the same time. Scripted series launches May 2019.
    • Commanders - (Dakota Pictures) - In this comedy, two teenage outcasts discover a mysterious code within a retro computer that can alter real life. When they decide to use this newfound power to disrupt the cliché social structure, their high school will never be the same. Scripted series launches June 2019.
    • Untitled BuzzFeed Daily Show - (BuzzFeed) - BuzzFeed’s daily afternoon show brings viewers the latest celebrity, entertainment, and OMG moments blowing up the internet. Launches Spring 2019.
    • Sneakerheads - (Indigo Development and Entertainment Arts and EMJAG Productions) - A comedy that follows the misadventures of three college freshmen as they navigate the crazy, shady, mercurial world of Los Angeles sneaker culture. Scripted series launches June 2019.
    • While Black - (Indigo Development and Entertainment Arts and Main Event Media) - Author, filmmaker, recording artist, and educator MK Asante explores racially charged social issues through candid conversations. Unscripted social commentary launches Summer 2019.
    • Can’t Talk Now - (New Form) - A teen soap that takes place inside the phones of a group of high school freshman BFFs as juicy drama unfolds across group texts, video chats, and social media. Scripted series launches Summer 2019.
    • Compton Dreams - (October Films) - Follow the highs and lows of three up-and-coming artists from Compton as they strive to become the next big name in hip-hop. Docuseries launches Summer 2019.
    • Denton’s Death Date - (Insurrection Media) - This comedy, set in a world where everyone knows the exact day they are going to die, centers on Denton Little, a high school junior whose death date is only a week away. Denton finally starts living his life to the fullest when a series of strange events unfold that may be the key to avoiding his fate. Based on the novel by Lance Rubin. Scripted series launches September 2019.
    • Stranded with Sam and Colby - (Bunim/Murray Productions) - A pair of influencers film from a haunted location and what starts as something fun quickly takes a terrifying turn. Docuseries launches Fall 2019.
    • Dead of Night - (Bazelevs in association with Hooked) - Armed with only her phone, a teenage girl must escape a quarantined city full of zombies. Shot in ScreenLife, exclusively from the point of view of the smartphone screen. Based on a Hooked story. Produced by Bazelevs in association with Hooked. Scripted series launches October 2019.


  • 3 New AR and Camera search experiences

    A raft of new augmented reality and camera search functions have been added to Snapchat.

    This includes the ability for users to now press and hold on the Snapchat camera screen to Scan and discover new experiences based on what’s in view.

    By scanning a physical product or barcode, for example, users will be led to Amazon's shopping website. Snap has also partnered with Shazam to detect what music is playing and offer more information around the song.

    On top of this Snap has updated its Lens Studio, offering new templates for hand, body and pet tracking for lens creation.

    Landmarker Lenses have also been introduced, enabling AR experiences that transform real-world locations such as Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower and the United States Capitol Building.


  • 4 Snap Kit

    App Stories

    The new App Stories feature lets users lets users create content for partner apps such as Tinder, Houseparty and Adventure Aide through Snap Kit.

    The Tinder integration for example lets users send a Snap directly to their Tinder profile. 

    These integrations are set to rollout this year.

    Creative Kit and Bitmoji Kit

    One particularly interesting new feature is the ability to use Creative Kit to share branded stickers in a Snap. This means that users can share their latest Anchor Podcast, a Netflix show they’re watching or a GoFundMe campaign within Snapchat.

    Other partners for this new feature include VSCO, JioSaavn, Breaker and Anghami.

    Lastly, Bitmoji Kit has been added that lets Snapchat users use their Bitmoji avatar in FitBit and Venmo.


  • 5 Snap Audience Network

    A new Snap Audience Network is set to launch over the coming months that will see Snap Ads roll out outside of the chat app.

    The move means advertisers can now market their brands and goods to an audience larger than Snapchat’s own 186 million daily active users. It also offers developers not on the platform another ad network to utilise to monetise their own apps.

    Developers can apply to gain access to its Ad Software Development Kit on the Snap Kit website.

    The initiative is expected to launch on iOS first in the US. No clear release date has been provided.


Head of Content

Craig Chapple is a freelance analyst, consultant and writer with specialist knowledge of the games industry. He has previously served as Senior Editor at PocketGamer.biz, as well as holding roles at Sensor Tower, Nintendo and Develop.