In Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality News
December 18, 2020 – Unity, a leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D content, and Snap Inc. have this week announced a partnership that extends the reach of Unity’s Ads supply to Snapchat advertisers, and brings Snap technology to game developers through Snap Kit. According to Unity, with more than 50 percent of all mobile games made with its platform, the Unity and Snapchat advertising and game development integrations will help fortify across both platforms their reach to the mobile gaming audience, as well as the discoverability of mobile games.
Unity’s platform as a whole provides a comprehensive set of software solutions to create, run and monetize interactive, real-time 2D and 3D content for mobile phones, tablets, PCs, consoles, and augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) devices. Although today’s announcement seems to relate more to mobile gaming specifically, it does still mean that the reach of both companies’ advertising capabilities across AR and VR devices, as well as the XR sector as a whole will be extended as a result.
Commenting on the announcement, Julie Shumaker, Vice President of Revenue, Operate Solutions at Unity, said: “We’re building on our commitment of enabling developer success at all stages of the game life cycle, from creation onwards”. She added, “Snap brings their vast advertiser community to the Unity ecosystem where they will reach highly engaged and valuable player audiences, while the verified elements from Snap used in games made with Unity will allow players to drive social sharing and game discovery.”
Starting today, Unity Ads, which reaches a highly engaged mobile gaming audience on both Android and iOS, is now included in the Snap Audience Network (SAN). Snapchat’s SAN advertiser campaigns will now include video inventory from Unity’s network of mobile gaming titles, helping advertisers extend beyond Snapchat.
“Snapchat is all about staying connected with your closest friends, but friendships aren’t just about conversations. They are often also based on shared experiences, which today includes gaming,” said Ben Schwerin, VP of Partnership, Snap Inc. “As gaming has increasingly become a visible part of the Snapchatter journey, it’s also an area that we aim to make easier for retailers and brands to reach Unity’s action-orientated gaming community through their Snapchat campaigns.”
Available today in the Unity Asset Store, mobile game developers can also now leverage select features of Snap Kit to enhance gameplay and the game discovery experience:
- Snap Kit’s Login Kit allows gamers to use their Snapchat account as a quick way to sign up and log in to games;
- Snap Kit’s Creative Kit extends the experience by allowing users to share their gameplay, decorating still shots or 15-second videos with branded stickers, or attaching an AR lens that has been created with game branding to share with their Snapchat friends. The shares also include referral links back to the game, which can help to amplify discovery and user acquisition for Unity developers to Snapchat’s 249 million daily active users.
A Bitmoji integration will also be coming in early 2021, adding a new level of personalization to gameplay. With Bitmoji for Game’s Unity SDK, developers will be able to leverage 3D Bitmoji to create a more immersive experience in games made with Unity by bringing players’ personalized avatars into the center of gameplay.
Both the Snap Kit and Bitmoji SDKs are offered via Unity’s Verified Solutions Partner program which includes third-party SDKs, plugins, editor applications, cloud services and more solutions that are verified to comply with Unity’s latest releases to ensure developers can integrate an offering with minimal effort.
“There are games for all types of unique social situations and social groups,” added Schwerin. “The Snap Kit and Bitmoji integrations with Unity will unlock many new opportunities for game developers to reach audiences by allowing them to more easily share experiences with one another while increasing visibility of their games.”
The integration of Unity Ads into the Snap Audience Network is available in the US and Canada, with the company noting that more countries are to come soon. To learn more about Unity Ads, please click here.
Image / video credit: Unity / Snapchat / YouTube
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About the author
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.