There have been overwhelming rumours for weeks that new creatures were to be added to Pokemon GO (Free), and it certainly made sense – many of the critters from the second generation of games, from Pichu to Ho-Oh and all the others in between, would be extremely familiar to a lot of the players who picked up the augmented reality game because of childhood nostalgia of playing the older Game Boy titles. Yesterday we also learnt that Niantic were preparing a major announcement for the game, and putting two and two together suggested that a release of the next generation of Pokemon within the game was imminent. Such theories have today been confirmed, as the official Pokemon Twitter account has announced that more creatures are coming to Pokemon GO, and more details will be announced on December 12th. In addition, the developers have also confirmed telecommunications giant Sprint as Pokemon GO‘s first official US partner, and over 10,500 Sprint locations will become Pokestops and Gyms in the very near future.
More Pokémon are coming to #PokemonGO! Stay tuned for details on 12/12, Trainers! pic.twitter.com/KOfScNpKdr
— Pokémon (@Pokemon) December 7, 2016
While this announcement of an announcement may be somewhat anticlimactic for anyone expecting some major news before the holidays begin, it’s undoubtedly big news that even more Pokemon will be added to the game. While Pokemon GO has remained a strong commercial success throughout its six month existence, many gamers have cited the lack of variety beyond the original 151 monsters, and so even more Pokemon to collect should entice many back into the fold, and hopefully make the streets yet again full of people pursuing that elusive Tyranitar running amok in the high street. Furthermore, the news that Sprint are partnering Pokemon GO in the US with Pokestops and Gyms at Sprint, BoostMobile, and Sprint at RadioShack stores (as well as charging points at these placeS) is great news for those in the States, and surely the beginning of a number of commercial partnerships for the game outside of Japan.
Let's welcome @Sprint, the 1st #PokemonGO US partner, adding 10,500 locations in the country as PokéStops & Gyms. https://t.co/PCpG9W4r89 pic.twitter.com/F50XhKlPR4
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) December 7, 2016
It’s not yet clear the very nature or details of the new Pokemon to be added to the game, and also whether this December 12th date is when the update will hit or merely when the full news will break, so keep your eye on this post as well as Pokemon GO‘s forum thread for further details on these new additions to the game.
