Niantic opens Black Developers Initiative program

The developer of Pokemon Go and Ingress is launching a program to fund and mentor black developers.

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Niantic has seen tremendous success with Pokemon Go over the last several years. The popularity and financial success of the AR game has provided the developer with a plethora of new resources, putting them in a prime position to give back and redistribute. The company looks to do just that, as Niantic has revealed its Black Developers Initiative program, where the developer will offer funding and mentorship to Black developers working on their own AR games.

Niantic found its calling in the augmented reality space, and now it's going to help underrepresented communities do the same. On the company’s website, Niantic further details its new program.

Those that are selected to join the program will receive five months of development funding, executive mentorship, and development support from the leadership at Niantic. Once the program concludes, participating developers will have a playable prototype and pitch deck for their very own AR game.

As far as diversity goes, it’s no secret that the world of game development has quite a long way to go. It’s awesome to see a company with as much pull as Niantic not only voicing its support for the cause, but using its resources to effect change. Niantic is urging those interested to reach out and apply now. For more on Niantic and its hit title Pokemon Go, stay right here on Shacknews.

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_

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