Snap joins online game fray, unveils advertising products

SAN FRANCISCO – Snapchat is joining the online-games bandwagon with a new service that lets people play together on its mobile platform. The company says it wants to make it easier for friends to play together.

Snap Inc. also unveiled at Los Angeles event new products to help companies advertise on its service, including Snapchat Ad Kit and Snapchat Audience Network. The tools let businesses send ads both to Snapchat users and people who don’t use the service, within other apps. The setup is similar to what Facebook does with its own ad service.

In addition, Snapchat launched original shows that can only be watched on its service, including “Can’t Talk Now,” which follows a group of high school kids with the story told through their phones.