Everyone knows Pokémon Go? Right? The game that took the mobile game world by storm in 2018. That got people walking miles to poke stops, and lusting after characters with names like jigglypuff, pikachu, and charmander. And everyone is also familiar with transformers? Right? The TV show, action figures, and just about everything in between. They have names like Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.
Well, as it turns out, the creators of the very popular Pokémon Go, are working on a mobile game involving the also very popular Transformers.
The game is due to come out in late 2021, and it will use the same AR platform that Niantic uses. Niantic is behind the popular Pokémon Go. The premise of the game is that players will get to combat transforming autonomous robots. Players will be a part of a Guardian Network. The Guardian Network is a team of people who have teamed up with autobots in a war against the deceptions. Players will be tasked with finding masked places on earth to gather resources to use to fight the Deceptions. Battles can either be solo battles or team battles.
What will the launch of this game look like? Transformers: Heavy Metal will have a soft launch “soon” in certain markets. According to Niantic, the game will be free to download, but it will have in-app purchases.
When asked, the Niantic CEO John Hanke said that “Transformers is the perfect franchise for AR. Battling and interacting with giant robots in the real world is an amazing experience. We want to live up to the high expectations of Transformers fans around the world and bring them a game unlike anything they’ve played before.”
And finally, what does this mean for mobile gaming? It means that it is staying relevant, becoming more relevant, and pulling people into its world. Like it is doing with Transformers.