Niantic Labs has announced NBA All-World, a new basketball game that uses augmented reality (AR) technology. The developer is known for preferring AR technology in its previous popular games, such as Pokémon GO and Pikmin Bloom. “NBA lifestyle meets the real-world metaverse,” said the company, collaborating with the NBA.
NBA All-World Is Niantic’s Newest AR Game
As you would expect from Niantic, NBA All-World is a location-based sports game with augmented reality elements. Niantic has collaborated with the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) to develop the new AR game, a real-world basketball-themed mobile video game. According to the press release, the goal of this title is to draw NBA fans into Niantic’s “Real World Metaverse.”
NBA All-World appears similar to Niantic’s earlier titles in that it populates the map around you with various areas of interest. The distinction here is that they are all basketball-themed rather than Pokémons. Niantic Labs Senior Producer Marcus Matthews explained the game in a presentation:
In addition to the NBA players, there will be accessories, clothing, and fashionable customizations, with the option of outfitting the game’s characters in customized clothing. Nevertheless, we don’t know precisely how the game works.
NBA All-World will be released for Android and iPhone during the next NBA basketball season. It is worth remembering that the upcoming NBA season began in mid-October.
In 2016, Pokémon GO was a global hit that still has a significant number of players. Since then, Niantic has sought to replicate its success. And finally, the game studio’s debut in the sports world is the NBA All-World.
