News: Snapchat Tilts Its AR Lenses Toward Casual Gaming with Snappables

As if its users weren't already having enough fun with dancing hot dogs and face effects, Snapchat is upping the ante with a new kind of shared augmented reality content.

Called Snappables, the interactive Lenses include games that users can play with facial expressions and head movements, along with the ability to challenge friends to play along or beat their high scores.

Other Snappables simply offer shared augmented reality experiences, enabling users to record an AR video and send it to a friend for them to join in.

According to a company spokesperson, Snappables will begin rolling out to iOS and Android users worldwide this week and will appear in the app's carousel (on the bottom of the screen) to the left of the camera button, with other Lenses located to the right.

The camera company has already shown a predilection for AR gaming with previous Lenses and its recent Easter-themed take on Pokémon GO.

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Its parent company has even made a move into game development by acquiring 3D game engine PlayCanvas.

Snappables is also the latest AR experience from the company that invites users to share content together. Snap Inc. had previously introduced Friendmojis, which join the virtual doppelgangers of users in AR content, and group video chat, which enables multiple friends to chat while using AR effects.

For much of 2018, Snapchat has been aggressive about making augmented reality a priority, demonstrating that focus by introducing new AR experiences for users as well as e-commerce tools for advertising partners to capitalize on AR content. At its current rate of iteration on its social platform, augmented reality fans will have more than enough content to keep their hands full by the end of the year.