Snapchat is testing out a brand new approach for its augmented actuality lens creators to generate income from their creations. The firm is experimenting with a brand new characteristic that may enable creators to promote paid upgrades to lenses with Snapchat’s in-app forex .

Creators have flexibility when it comes to the “digital goods” they’ll construct into their current lens. It may very well be a brand new impact inside the lens, new modifying instruments or another form of “power up” that enhances the impact, in line with Snap’s Sophia Dominguez, who leads the corporate’s AR partnerships with creators.

For its preliminary rollout, Snap has opted to work with creators behind a few of the app’s hottest results, just like the “potato lens” (pictured within the prime picture). With the unlockable upgrades, followers will now be capable of use tokens to vary up the impact with totally different options like a magic wand or a police officer costume. For now, solely a handful of creators have entry to the characteristic, which is able to solely be obtainable in Australia and New Zealand to start out.

Snapchat’s augmented actuality results have lengthy been one of many largest attracts of the app, which has benefitted from quite a few viral lenses through the years. But till now, customers have been in a position to entry all of those results at no cost. And augmented actuality creators hoping to monetize their work have primarily relied on partnerships with manufacturers, which rent them to create customized lenses.

Dominguez says upgradable lenses may very well be an essential approach for extra AR creators to make a residing from their work. It might additionally show profitable for Snap, which has more and more been experimenting with sources of income. The firm for now isn’t disclosing particulars about its preparations with creators on gross sales of inside lenses, however the firm already makes cash from , which will also be used for sport upgrades or to tip creators within the app.

Of course, all this is dependent upon Snapchat customers being keen to spend cash to get unique new augmented actuality results, which is way from a given. “We actually have no idea how this is going to go,” Dominguez tells Engadget. “We can’t guarantee anything, but we really do hope that because this is largely coming from our AR developers and this is also revenue that goes to them, their subscribers will support them.”