Niantic, developer of the hit Pokémon Go, announced a new partnership with Nintendo. The first new game from the collaboration is a mobile augmented reality game based on Nintendo’s popular Pikmin franchise, and it starts later this year.
Details are thin at the moment, but Niantic says that “the app will include game activities to encourage walking and make it more enjoyable.” If you would like more information about the new game as it is available, you can sign up here to get updates. The new Pikmin AR games will first be developed by Niantic’s Tokyo Studio.
“Niantic’s AR technology has made it possible for us to experience the world as if Pikmin lives secretly all around us, ”Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto said in a statement. ‘Based on the theme of fun, our mission is to offer people a new experience that is different from traditional games. We hope that the Pikmin and this app will become a partner in your life. ”
The Pikmin franchise is about exploring a very Earth-like planet with suits of the beautiful Pikmin creatures, thus a Niantic-made Pikmin game about walking and exploring the world around you makes a lot of sense. The latest game in the Pikmin series is the Nintendo Switch’s Pikmin 3 Deluxe, an upgraded version of the 2013 game that was first released for the Wii U.
Niantic has not said what other games it will make with Nintendo, but it sounds like the two companies have acquired some sort of long-term partnership. “We are honored that Nintendo has chosen Niantic to be the publisher of real AR applications,” Niantic said. More details on future programs will be announced ‘in the coming months’.
Niantic is especially known for Pokémon Go, the hugely popular mobile AR game released in July 2016. The game is still quite popular despite being almost five years old, although Niantic had to make some changes to the game while many stay indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These changes have not stopped Pokémon Go According to app analytics firm Sensor Tower, from November to 2020, the app analytics firm Sensor Tower was the biggest year to date.