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Pikmin AR kicks off new partnership between Nintendo and Niantic

Nintendo and Pokemon GO developer Niantic Labs have partnered up for a multi-game deal, which will start with a new Pikmin AR game.

Ozzie Mejia

March 22, 2021 5:20 PM

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Niantic Labs has become the big name in mobile games revolving around augmented reality. Using its real-world AR tech, the developer has put together massive successes with Pokemon GO and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Nintendo has taken notice and now the two parties are coming together for a new partnership, which will begin with a new Pikmin AR game.

Here's the announcement from VP of Product Kei Kewai on the Niantic Labs website:

Today, we are thrilled to announce a new partnership with Nintendo to jointly develop mobile titles built on Niantic's real-world AR technology, bringing Nintendo's beloved characters to life in new ways. We're honored that Nintendo has chosen Niantic to be its publisher of real-world AR applications.

To kick off the partnership, Niantic and Nintendo are developing an app based on the Pikmin franchise. The app will include gameplay activities to encourage walking and make walking more delightful. Slated to launch later this year, this will be the first title created by our Tokyo Studio since it was established in April 2018.

We'll share more details about the apps in the coming months. We're excited to continue building on this partnership as we pursue our mission of encouraging people to explore the world together.

This will be the first new entry in the Pikmin franchise since 2017's Hey! Pikmin was released for the Nintendo 3DS. Pikmin 3 did get a deluxe remaster on the Nintendo Switch in late 2020. It was pretty good.

There are no details on what elements of the Pikmin universe will be used for this upcoming mobile effort. Nor are there any details regarding future games in the Nintendo/Niantic partnership. For the moment, just expect to see a mobile Pikmin game later in 2021. Those interested in checking it out can sign-up for updates.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?