Niantic Labs, the studio behind augmented reality (AR) title Pokemon GO, has been going on the virtual reality (VR)/AR offensive of late, having recently acquired Escher Reality and now VR studio Seismic Games.
Seismic Games are the team behind the Blade Runner: Revelations VR experience for Google Daydream, made in conjunction with Alcon Interactive. Comprised of industry veterans hailing from EA/Pandemic and Activision, the founders led development efforts on blockbuster games such as the original Star Wars: Battlefront.
On the acquisition Niantic Labs said in a statement: “Seismic will continue to see through its existing slate of titles in development as it transitions into building all new AR experiences with Niantic.
“At Niantic, we’re committed to our mission of motivating people to exercise, be social, and discover new places. We’re confident that Seismic Games will help us deliver on that mission — faster, and better.”
While John Linden, President, Seismic Games commented: “As visionaries in the mobile entertainment and Augmented Reality (AR) field, John Hanke and his team have redefined what’s possible in uniting global communities through universally engaging and surprising gameplay experiences. We cannot wait to closely work with them on exciting new projects that will add depth to their narrative-driven releases and to help evolve the Niantic Real World Platform.”
Linden also reveals that: “We’ve also been cooking up a couple of new licensed IP projects,” which could well see AR implementation due to the purchase.
Niantic Labs is working on several AR titles at present, not only more updates to Pokemon GO but also puzzle title Codename: Tonehenge, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, plus Ingress and Ingress Prime. As the studios reveal further details on their upcoming AR projects, VRFocus will keep you updated.