Nintendo and Pokemon GO developer team up for another mobile AR game

Nintendo and Niantic are long-time partners thanks to the Pokemon GO phenomenon. Today, the companies announced they have decided to expand that partnership beyond Pokemon GO, but still within the confines of the mobile ecosystem.

The next mobile AR (augmented reality) experience to be developed by Niantic will be one based on Nintendo's Pikmin franchise. Just like Pokemon GO, the upcoming mobile game will feature gameplay mechanics that will encourage walking outdoors.

No other details about the Pikmin mobile game have been revealed yet, but Niantic confirmed it will be released later this year, probably on both Android and iOS platforms. Also, the developer announced that this will be the first title created by it Tokyo Studio since its creation back in April 2018.



The first Pikmin games were launched for the GameCube in the early 2000s and later ported to the Wii. A third game was launched on the Wii U in 2013 and then re-released for the Nintendo Switch as Pikmin 3 Deluxe back in October 2020.

The Pikmin series combines elements of real-time strategy, action-platformer, and puzzle. Players control a group of Pikmin, intelligent, multicolored creatures that look like plant-animal hybrids, giving them orders while exploring an Earth-like planet.