Snap and HBO launch AR experience for House of the Dragon

The new lens comes in two modes: selfie and worldview. In selfie mode, users can use the front-facing camera to superimpose the virtual image of a fire-breathing dragon over their own face. In worldview mode, users can scan their phone’s rear camera over pre-selected zones in major cities around the world to view flying dragons on their screens.

Snap said that its new lens was the product of a “first-of-its-kind partnership” that “[paired] a brand with a diverse group of Lens Creators at a global scale.” The company enlisted the help of several individual creators from more than 10 different countries to develop AR experiences for specific locales.

Creators personally selected the areas that would be incorporated into the AR experience, which Snap says brought “a powerful local element to this global campaign.”

The first batch of AR “landmarker lenses” is slated to go live this Sunday August 21 – the same day as the House of the Dragon series premiere – for the following locations:

• Los Angeles, California: Venice Beach Grand Canals

• Rio De Janeiro, Brazil: Princess Isabel Statue

• London, UK: Tower Bridge

• Chennai, India: Sankagiri Fort

• Mumbai, India: CST Station (IE Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus)

• Prague, Czech Republic: Charles Bridge

The new lenses will be released during the premiere, mid-season and finally during the season finale in September. Users can discover the location of specific AR experiences using dragon icons in the Snap Map.

Snap also launched a dragon-themed AR campaign centered on New York City’s Flatiron Building back in 2019 for the premiere of the final season of Game of Thrones.

The company says that Snapchat currently has over 347 million daily active users (DAU) and is used by more than 90% of 13- 24-year-olds in more than 20 countries.

For more, sign up for The Drum’s Inside the Metaverse weekly newsletter here.