Niantic took what they had learned from their augmented reality multiplayer game Ingress and applied it to the massively popular Pokemon IP to create the cultural phenomenon known as Pokemon GO back in 2016. Ever since that Pokemon GO explosion back then they’ve tried to duplicate that same sort of success with titles that also utilize their real-world tech and combine it with huge IPs. However, nothing has reached the unbelievable heights of Pokemon GO, and likely nothing ever will match that lightning in a bottle moment. That doesn’t mean that Niantic will stop trying though, and their latest venture sees them partnering up with the biggest professional basketball league in the world, the NBA, for a game called NBA All-World. Here is a teaser video.
It’s not entirely clear what the gameplay will be like in NBA All-World, but if you’re familiar with other Niantic games I’m sure you can take a guess. The official press release describes the game as a “free-to-play officially licensed geolocation basketball game where players can find, challenge, and compete against today’s NBA ballers in their neighborhoods, then recruit them to their team before proving themselves on the court." The game is also in partnership with the National Basketball Players Association so there will be a heavy emphasis on actual NBA stars being inside NBA All-World for fans to interact with in a whole new way. NBA All-World is currently in soft launch and you can visit the official website to see if it’s available in your region yet, and if not, sign up to be notified when it does become available.