Snapchat will launch its rumoured gaming platform next month, according to a new report.
Cheddar sources claim the company is preparing to launch ‘Project Cognac’ which will see games sit inside the main Snapchat app. The company wants third-party developers to create games for the platform, which could help to improve user engagement for the company, which is struggling to retain users.
It wouldn’t be the first time the company has dabbled in gaming. Last year it launched Snappables, a series of AR Lens based games that encouraged users to pull silly faces. The new venture is likely to feature titles of a little more substance.
The Information had previously reported Snap was working on the gaming platform last summer, which was followed by reports the company had acquired the Australian studio Prettygreat.
According to the report, the launch will take place at the Snap Partner Summit on April 4 in Los Angeles, where the company is also scheduled to announce more original video content. Snap has not commented on the report.
Related: How to delete your Snapchat account permanently
The company has struggled to recover from a controversial redesign last year, which had some of its most illustrious users swearing off the app for good. Instagram Stories has also usurped Snapchat in terms of popularity, so it would make sense the company is presumably looking at alternate means of bringing in revenue.
Earlier this year it was reported the company was considering enabling publicly-posted Snaps to remain live permanently. These commercial deals with media partners are one way to get it done, while the new plans would also mean advertising revenue from publicly-embedded snaps would be visible for longer.
A person familiar with Snap’s plans told Reuters the firm may ensure public posts remain visible for longer, or perhaps even permanently. Currently, public stories remain viewable for 90 days, which is already triple the original 30-day limit.
The report said consideration comes after feedback from Snapchat’s partnerships with news discovery platforms, who say the disappearing Stories made it harder for media companies to work with breaking news content on Snapchat.
Could gaming breathe new life into Snapchat? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
