Niantic was first established in 2010, being a San Francisco-based mobile game developer with focus on augmented reality. After the company split from Google back in 2015, it partnered with Nintendo and The Pokemon Company to developPokemon GO. This ended up becoming a smash hit in 2016, reaching at least over a billion downloads by 2019. This overwhelming popularity led the company to developing a number of other mobile games with the same augmented reality technology.This has resulted in games such asPeridot, a new original smartphone AR game developed by the company, another Nintendo related smartphone collaboration known asPikmin Bloom, and even a partnership with the NBA to develop a similar game based onPokemon GO. With all of these games by Niantic, it might be difficult for players to coordinate a session to walk around to play or take on activities in their area. Niantic is releasing a new social app known asCampfireto help manage these.RELATED:Pokemon GO Developer Niantic is Making an NBA GameCampfireis a community-based application where mobile gamers can discover others who are playing certain Niantic-developed games, such asPokemon GO. More specifically, it provides a way for fans to participate in meetups or community events, utilizing a dynamic map of the area the player is in. This allows them to check which games or activities that others had been in and where they were when it occurred. This allows for players to easily find each other in local communities and even make some new friends there too.
All ofNiantic’s games are also in the top right corner, so players can add their friends across all the developer’s games. This syncs with a player’s Niantic ID, Friend List, and Profile. Not only that, a Direct and Group messaging system is implemented in this application, where players can instantly share information on raids, gyms, locations, and photos inPokemon GOfor example. Location sharing is an optional feature that will last for an hour and will turn off automatically.
Campfireis currently rolling out globally, with certainPokemon GORegions being able to use it in the Summer. Region availability will be updated on Niantic’s social media channels as time goes on. Though considering the recently reported amount ofcanceled projects and layoffs at Niantic, this social application might only be beneficial for the popular games that the developer is currently maintaining likePokemon GO.
Campfirewill be available for iOS and Android devices this Summer.
