The creators of Pokemon Go, Niantic are working alongside the immersive theatre company Punchdrunk to create a new augmented reality project. According to IGN, both companies are working together on an unnamed project that intends to combine augmented reality with theatrical performance. While there aren’t many specifics regarding what this project will entail, the announcement press release did state that “This revolutionary collaboration will lead to new advances in tech-empowered audience experience that will redefine gaming, inspiring audiences for generations to come.”
Although not many details have been revealed regarding the project, it has been implied that the project will have a mobile app. According to a statement by Punchdrunk Artistic Director Felix Barrett on the Niantic Blog Page, “I believe that Punchdrunk and Niantic can create something that has never been done before. They do it in AR, we do it in real life. Collide the two and I think we will blow people’s minds; bend the rules of genre and redefine the norms of mobile gaming.” This statement seems to imply that this project will include some sort of mobile app with augmented reality features.
The project’s theorized use of a mobile app can be further supported by a statement on Punchdrunk International’s web page, which states that “Niantic’s Real World Platform will give us the opportunity to take our work outside of buildings and into the world around you. Across multiple projects, we want to bend the rules of genre and redefine the norms of mobile gaming. Our hope is that together, we can create something no one else can.” The CEO of Niantic has also stated that the two companies have been collaborating on this project for a number of months and that it would ” meld the virtual and real worlds.” Aside from these minor clues, very little has actually been revealed regarding what this project will entail as no release date for this project has been revealed.