Snap games were once a popular feature on the Snapchat app, allowing users to play simple, casual games together. However, over the past couple of years, Snap has removed this feature from Snapchat. There are a few key reasons behind Snap’s decision to remove games from its platform.
Decreased Usage and Engagement
One of the main reasons Snap games have disappeared is simply that usage and engagement with the games feature was declining. Snap first introduced Snap Games in 2019 as a way to encourage more interaction between Snapchat users. The games were designed to be quick, social experiences that friends could play together.
However, over time engagement with Snap games steadily dropped off. Industry analysts believe there are a couple reasons for this:
- The games were fairly basic and repetitive, lacking depth and variety to keep users interested long-term.
- With so many high-quality mobile games available on app stores, Snapchat users did not turn to Snap Games for gaming entertainment.
- The Snapchat platform is primarily used for messaging and content sharing, rather than gaming, so games were not central to the user experience.
As usage declined, it became clear that Snap games were not the social gaming hit Snap had hoped for. Removing the underperforming feature likely allowed Snap to focus resources on more popular parts of the app.
Shift in Company Priorities
Another factor in Snap’s decision to remove games is shifting company priorities. In recent years, Snap has been focused on positioning Snapchat as a social media platform and camera app, moving away from the lighter, entertainment-focused vision it originally had.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has repeatedly emphasized that he sees Snapchat as a fast way for friends to visually communicate, rather than a source of games and other entertainment content. Snap is also investing heavily in augmented reality technology and advertising capabilities.
With Snap’s limited resources and shifting priorities, maintaining the Snap Games platform was likely seen as an unnecessary distraction. The company preferred to focus on areas like messaging, AR and Discover that are more central to Snapchat as a social network.
Competition from Gaming Apps
The mobile gaming space has become extremely competitive in recent years. Platforms like the App Store and Google Play offer millions of gaming apps in every conceivable genre. Popular multiplayer games like Fortnite and PUBG Mobile attract tens of millions of players.
For Snapchat to stand out in this crowded market with its relatively basic games was an uphill battle. Industry experts note that Snap lacked the in-house game development expertise to keep producing hit games for Snapchat. With limited gaming content, the platform struggled to compete for users’ time and attention against pure gaming apps.
Rather than continuing to invest in an unproven games feature, Snap likely decided to refocus on what Snapchat does best – rapid sharing and messaging between friends.
Development Costs and Challenges
Creating games for a platform like Snapchat comes with substantial development costs and technical challenges. Snap would have needed to keep contracting external game studios to build titles for Snap Games. Then extensive engineering work was required to integrate these games into the Snapchat app.
Even once games were launched on Snapchat, there were ongoing costs for maintenance and updates. Snap would have had to weigh whether investing significant resources into Snap Games made sense given the falling engagement and usage.
Ultimately, Snap decided to allocate its resources and developer talent elsewhere. But the costs and difficulty of building in-house games likely contributed to Snap discontinuing the Snap Games platform.
Regulatory Scrutiny
Social media platforms have faced growing regulatory pressure in recent years, and Snap is no exception. Increasingly, regulators are concerned about the amount of time young users spend on apps like Snapchat and the addictive qualities of these services.
While Snap Games was not a major focus for the company, removing the feature may have been seen as a preemptive move to avoid any additional regulatory attention. With less potential for users to get hooked playing mini-games in the app, Snap may have hoped to avoid accusations that it was exacerbating gaming addiction issues.
The regulatory landscape likely encouraged Snap’s shift away from entertainment features and toward more functional social networking tools.
Focus on Augmented Reality
One area Snap is actively investing in is augmented reality (AR). Snapchat offers a range of playful AR lenses and filters that overlay digital images onto the real world.
AR technology aligns well with Snap’s focus on visual communication and camera tools. The company sees AR experiences as the future of social media and a key way to stand out from competitors.
Building out Snapchat’s AR capabilities requires tremendous developer resources. Removing Snap Games may have been a strategic choice to direct talent toward AR rather than dividing efforts across games and AR.
In short, Snap sees more long-term potential in AR than in a standalone games platform. Discontinuing Snap Games helps clear the way for Snap to fully embrace augmented reality.
Conclusion
Snap Games showed initial promise as a fun new way for friends to interact on Snapchat. But as usage declined over time, Snap ultimately decided the cost and effort to maintain the games platform was not worth the limited benefit.
By removing Snap Games to focus on more core Snapchat features, Snap has signaled its intent to prioritize social networking and communication over casual gaming and entertainment. While some users may miss the option to play games within Snapchat, the company seems confident that doubling down on areas like messaging, Discover, AR and advertising will drive growth in the long run.
For game developers, Snapchat is no longer a viable platform. But Snap’s large, engaged audience remains highly appealing. As Snap expands its AR capabilities, there may be fresh opportunities for developers to create compelling AR experiences tailored to Snapchat users.
While the Snap Games experiment has ended, Snapchat itself continues to evolve as a flagship social platform. Where the app goes next remains to be seen, but likely involves less Angry Birds and more augmented reality magic.