A Snapchat game is a game played inside the Snapchat app, today usually a Lens Game opened from the camera or a chat, with nothing to install. For brands it is a short, scored round inside an app people already open to message friends, built so the result gets sent on.
How it works
Today the term mostly means Lens Games: games built as Lenses in Snap's Lens Studio. According to Snapchat's help centre, you open a chat, tap + in the Chat drawer and choose to play games, or swipe to the Games tab on the Camera screen. Some games are played by sending Snaps back and forth; live games, marked with a friend icon, run in real time. Snap's developer docs add friend leaderboards and Bitmoji avatars as playable characters.
Not every Snapchat game is a lens. Snap launched Snap Games on 4 April 2019: multiplayer titles such as Bitmoji Party, started from the Chat bar with no install, which Snap has since withdrawn. Brands have also turned Stories and ad pages into games. An AR lens is a camera effect; it becomes a game when it adds a score, a goal or a prize.
Where brands use it
The library holds 12 campaign games built for Snapchat, most from food and drink brands chasing engagement. In 2016 and 2017 brands built games outside Snap's own tools: Gatorade's Serena Williams' Match Point opened from an ad in ESPN's Discover channel, and its Fuel Force from a Snapcode on the bottle label. In June 2018 Snap began selling branded versions of its AR games, with King, Dunkin' Donuts and Bud Light among the first, VentureBeat reported. Recent work is lens-based and often tied to places: McDonald's McDonaldland Map put three mini-games on a 3D map. Browse the social and AR and VR facets, or AR in the wild.
When it fits
A Snapchat game suits a short brief tied to a moment: a launch, a season or a sports event, for teenagers and young adults who already message there. Snap's Shorty Awards entry for Nike's 2024 Paris lens says Snapchat reaches over 90% of French youth. Make the score worth sending: Snap said in October 2025 that the number of people sharing Lens Games had grown 130% in a year.
Distribution can be paid, printed or borrowed. Snap sells AR Lens ads for awareness, engagement and conversions. Gatorade printed 300 million Snapcodes on bottles for Fuel Force, the same on-pack idea as QR code games, and Coca-Cola ran SnapSkate on an influencer's Story. Builds can be quick: UNIT9 says Sainsbury's Egg Roller was made, tested and delivered in three weeks.
When not to use it
Skip Snapchat for children's brands. Snap's terms say its services are not directed to children under 13, so aim at parents or build a web game, and check COPPA with counsel. Skip it for anything that must last, because Snap can retire a format: it stopped investing in Games and Minis in August 2022, and in February 2023 Snapchat Support said they were no longer available.
It is also a weak tool for data capture. The game lives in Snap's app, so sign-ups and prize claims need a separate page; an instant win game on your own site keeps the whole funnel. For long sessions and return visits, a Roblox experience fits better.
Examples from the library
SnapSkate — Coca-Cola (2017)
Agency: Ogilvy · Platform: Snapchat Stories
The game was a Snapchat Story on the channels of German influencer izzi and Coca-Cola Germany, for the Zero Sugar launch. Each snap showed pro skater Denny Pham riding at an obstacle. Tapping just before he fell skipped to the next snap, where he cleared it; tap late and you watched him wipe out. Chained taps carried players through levels, collecting Coke Coins, to a finish line and a draw for one of five pro skateboards.
Result: In the three days it ran, 31 March to 2 April 2017, 240,000 teens played, producing 7.5 million views and 8,000 hours spent with the brand, according to Ogilvy's case board; 76% played to the end. Horizont reported that Coca-Cola paid Snapchat nothing, because no standard ad placement was bought.
Egg Roller — Sainsbury's (2017)
Agency: AnalogFolk, with UNIT9 (production) · Platform: HTML5 game on Sainsbury's recipes site, opened from Snapchat
A striped Easter egg sat on a grassy hill, and players tilted the phone left and right to roll it past flower pots, a garden gnome and other obstacles, grabbing boosts on the way. The score was the distance in metres; the run ended when the egg hit an obstacle and cracked, and the score screen asked players to share and challenge friends. UNIT9 says the game loaded directly in the user's Snapchat feed.
Result: A case round-up by Jose Angelo Studios puts the campaign at 14.5 million impressions, a reach of six million and 928 hours of gameplay in total.
Victory Mode — Nike (2024)
Agency: Arcadia · Platform: Snapchat Lens
Players opened the lens and looked up: the sky over Paris became the playing field, with a beacon showing the direction and distance to the nearest Nike event or store. There the Victory Arcade ran basketball and football challenges, scored on a live leaderboard against everyone playing across the city. An AR scavenger hunt added bonus points at marked spots around Paris. The lens ran through the summer 2024 tour and can no longer be played.
Result: Snap's Shorty Awards entry, which won a Bronze Honor for Creative Use of Technology, reports 23 million paid impressions, 383,000 organic impressions and 642,000 Snap Star impressions.
FAQ
Are Snapchat games still available?
Yes, as Lens Games: in a chat, tap + in the Chat drawer and choose to play games, or swipe to the Games tab on the Camera screen. Snap said in October 2025 that over 175 million people play Lens Games every month. What went away is Snap Games, the 2019 titles such as Bitmoji Party, which Snapchat Support said in February 2023 were no longer available.
Why were Snapchat games removed?
In its restructuring announcement of 31 August 2022, Snap said it would discontinue its investments in Snap Originals, Minis, Games and Pixy to focus on three priorities: community growth, revenue growth and augmented reality. Games survived inside the third, as Lens Games built in Lens Studio, which added leaderboard templates and turn-based play in June 2025.
Is a Snapchat game the same as an AR lens?
Not always. A lens is a camera effect and becomes a game only with a score, a goal or a prize; see AR lens. A Snapchat game can also use no AR at all: SnapSkate was a Story you played by tapping, and Egg Roller an HTML5 game hosted on Sainsbury's recipes site and opened from Snapchat.