Niantic struck a deal to acquire social gaming app Lowkey, pitching the move on its ability to boost players’ connectivity options.

In a blog, Niantic’s head of product Ivan Zhou explained it was tapping Lowkey’s platform to provide new ways for users to communicate and play.

The platform allows users to capture and share short gameplay videos designed for mobile devices.

Zhou explained Lowkey’s “leadership in this space will accelerate the social experiences we’re building in our Niantic products”.

The executive noted AR technology offered the potential to “impact humanity in transformative ways” and the company strived to build social tools contributing towards this aim.

Metrics company App Annie noted increased use of services enabling gamers to communicate with each other during Q1, with streaming platform Twitch and messaging service Discord recording “steady growth” in consumer spending during the period.