Augmented Reality Game in the Coop Supercard App
For the Supercard app of the Swiss retailer Coop, we developed the in-app game “Partner Safari,” which could be seamlessly integrated into the enterprise IT infrastructure thanks to a streamlined Web AR architecture.
An additional non-AR mode also ensures accessibility for all user groups and has resulted in tens of thousands of successful interactions.
Client
Our services
At the heart of Coop Genossenschaft’s digital customer loyalty strategy is the Supercard app, which is used by a broad user base across all segments of the population.
The AR game was subject to complex structural constraints: Temporary campaign software had to be integrated as an external service into Coop’s strictly regulated IT processes.
The mini-game was designed to challenge users to find and capture products in augmented reality (AR) within a physical space in order to win prizes. Since the Supercard app is aimed at a mass audience, high adoption rates driven by ease of use were crucial.
Since augmented reality is not intuitive or physically accessible for all target groups, a key UX decision was made in favor of accessibility: the implementation of a classic 2D game mode. Users who found AR too difficult could seamlessly switch to a standardized interaction mode that did not require camera access.
“The time we've invested in polishing interaction details—such as haptic feedback and sound design—is what makes the game such an experience.”
Raphael Anderegg
Software Developer at Bitforge
The key architectural decision was to forego native AR development. To ensure the game loaded seamlessly from an external source into the existing app, we opted to use web technologies and the web-based 3D engine PlayCanvas. This enabled a streamlined integration without modifying the app’s core code, as the game was simply played via the in-app browser.
A dedicated test environment provided by Coop-IT allowed us to test the software under real-world conditions without affecting the app’s operational performance. Additionally, the setup was designed to be modular: Sponsors and icons could be dynamically swapped out and displayed based on the calendar date.
Over the course of the campaign, the game recorded tens of thousands of views and enabled a wide range of immersive brand interactions within the target audience. The chosen Web AR architecture proved its effectiveness in live operation and ensured consistently stable performance even with high usage rates.
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