Niantic Labs, developers of augmented reality experiences including the wildly popular Pokemon Go, revealed a new AR basketball game is in the works, with beta testing starting soon in “limited markets.” The game joins a series of other recent projects from the software development company including Pikmin Bloom, 3D world mapping and, of course, lots of play-enhancing updates to Pokemon Go.
Niantic describes the game, NBA All-World, as a “a free-to-play officially licensed geolocation basketball game where players can find, challenge, and compete against today’s NBA ballers in their neighborhoods.” Players can compete in one-on-one challenges or recruit players to play as a team while padding their stats and collecting gear to improve their (virtual) on-court abilities.
Marcus Matthews, Senior Producer at Niantic commented on the project stating it “represents an industry first in sports games, as an original, real-world mobile game that will appeal to casual and core NBA fans alike.” Further adding to its NBA appeal, the game will “embrace the fashion of the NBA with the ability to outfit players in the game with custom apparel.”
Niantic has partnered with the NBA directly on the creation and upcoming release of NBA All-World, which is slated to launch for Android and iOS devices during the 2022-23 NBA season. Until then, you can pre-register for the app and sign up to receive updates on the official NBA All-World page.
Source: CNET
