SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Unity (NYSE: U), the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content, and Snap Inc. (NYSE: SNAP) today 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. With more than 50 percent of all mobile games made with Unity, the Unity and Snapchat advertising and game development integrations fortify reach to the mobile gaming audience, and the discoverability of mobile games, across both platforms.
“We’re building on our commitment of enabling developer success at all stages of the game life cycle, from creation onwards,” said Julie Shumaker, Vice President of Revenue, Operate Solutions, Unity. “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 extensive network of mobile gaming titles, helping advertisers extend beyond Snapchat. Unity Ads1 reports 22.9B+ monthly global ad impressions, reaching 2B+ monthly active end-users worldwide. In 2020, mobile ad viewers have converted at higher frequencies, with install conversion rates up by 23%2, and mobile gamers installing 84% more apps3.
“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, amplifying discovery and user acquisition for Unity developers to Snapchat’s 249 million daily active users4.
A Bitmoji integration will also be coming in early 2021, and will add 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. They will be able to bring players’ Bitmoji avatars into the center of gameplay, enabling players to be themselves in games like never before.
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 more countries to come soon. Snap Kit’s Login Kit and Creative Kit features are available today worldwide. The Bitmoji Kit integration will be available in early 2021.
To learn more about Unity Ads, please visit https://unity.com/solutions/unity-ads. To learn more about Unity’s VSP Program, please visit https://unity.com/partners/verified-solutions.
About Unity
Unity (NYSE: U) is the world’s leading platform for creating and operating real-time 3D (RT3D) content. Creators, ranging from game developers to artists, architects, automotive designers, filmmakers, and others, use Unity to make their imaginations come to life. Unity’s platform 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 devices. The company’s 1,800+ person research and development team keeps Unity at the forefront of development by working alongside partners to ensure optimized support for the latest releases and platforms. Apps developed by Unity creators were downloaded more than five billion times per month in 2020. For more information, please visit www.unity.com.
1 Numbers reported as of the six months ending June 30, 2020.
2 Source: Unity report; “COVID-19’s Impacts on the Gaming Industry: 19 Takeaways” www.unity.com/covid19-report.
3 Source: Unity report; “COVID-19’s Impacts on the Gaming Industry: 19 Takeaways” www.unity.com/covid19-report.
4 Snap Inc. internal data Q3 2020. See Snap Inc. public filings with the SEC.