Mental health is a serious issue in the United States and the world. An estimated one in five U.S. citizens deals with mental illness in some form, according to the National Insitute of Mental Health. Niantic, an American development company known for its augmented reality mobile games, has a history of encouraging better mental health with games like Pokémon GO and Peridot, both of which urge its players to explore the world and make meaningful connections with each other.
Niantic further emphasized positive mental health by partnering with Safe In Our World for World Mental Health Awareness Day.
Safe In Our World is a nonprofit involved in promoting mental health awareness within the gaming industry. By partnering with Niantic for World Mental Health Awareness Day, the organization aims to “highlight ways players can get the most out of their experiences with social-focused games.” Together they created and published Positive Play Guide, designed to encourage these goals by showcasing “amazing community stories” and providing “information to supplement players’ wellbeing.”
Creating new connections has always been a critical aspect of Niantic’s games, with players forming over 1.4 billion friendships through their interactive experiences, according to Pocket Gamer. In celebration of these friendships and Mental Health Awareness Day, Niantic is launching a series of stories describing real life friendships that began as a result of their games.
In addition to this, the company has also revealed a new micro-experience as a part of Peridot, titled Pause with Peridot. The franchise extension was announced by Asim Ahmed, a global product marketing leader at Niantic, via X (formerly Twitter).
The web-based experience is “centered around breathing exercises” and hopes to “expand over time” according to Ashley Rosenbaum, the lead animator for Peridot. She and the Peridot team hope that the extension “can end up becoming a wellness lifelog of sorts” for players.
Mental illness is a serious subject, but Niantic is spreading the message that improving mental health can still be an enjoyable process.