Niantic Labs – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

October 10, 2021

The VR Job Hub: Niantic Labs, Campfire & Draw & Code

Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.

Location	Company	Role	Link
San Francisco, CA	Niantic Labs	3D Animator	Click Here to Apply
Los Angeles, CA	Niantic Labs	Art Director	Click Here to Apply
San Francisco, CA/ London, UK/ Seattle, WA	Niantic Labs	Technical Artist	Click Here to Apply
San Francisco, CA	Niantic Labs	Global Head of Content and Social Media	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Niantic Labs	Lead Game Designer	Click Here to Apply
San Francisco, CA/ London, UK/ Sunnyvale, CA	Niantic Labs	Senior C++ Software Engineer, AR Applications	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Niantic Labs	Senior Software Engineer, AR Machine Learning	Click Here to Apply
San Francisco, CA	Niantic Labs	Director of Digital Marketing, Pokémon GO	Click Here to Apply
Zurich, Switzerland	Niantic Labs	Software Engineer, Internship (Security)	Click Here to Apply
Los Angeles, CA	Niantic Labs	Associate Designer	Click Here to Apply
Los Angeles, CA	Niantic Labs	QA Tester	Click Here to Apply
San Francisco, CA (Hybrid)	Campfire	Head of Optical & Display Systems	Click Here to Apply
Liverpool, UK	Draw & Code	3D Artist	Click Here to Apply
Liverpool, UK	Draw & Code	3D Technical Artist	Click Here to Apply
Liverpool, UK	Draw & Code	Producer	Click Here to Apply
Liverpool, UK	Draw & Code	Unity Developer	Click Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).

We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

September 20, 2021

Catan: World Explorers’ Journey Ends Before it Truly Began, Closes November

Remember Catan: World Explorers from 2019, probably not? A project by Pokémon Go creator Niantic Labs to fuse augmented reality (AR) geolocation gaming and the renowned Catan board game together, it’s about to be closed down for go, before it even saw an official launch.

After the 2019 reveal, Catan: World Explorers saw an early access launch in the US and a few other select regions. Much like Niantic Lab’s other AR titles, the original plan was to roll out to more and more countries but that’s no longer happening the company recently confirmed.

Catan: World Explorers has already been removed from the App Store as well as all real-money purchases from the in-game shop. If you’ve been playing the videogame for the past year then you’ve got until 18th November 2021, 7am UTC, at which point the servers will be shut down and the title will be no more.

While there’s been no official reason as to why Catan: World Explorers is being closed down a blog post does note the difficulties in such an endeavour: “We had a vision for trading, harvesting, and building up the world in seasonal play and resetting the board each month, just like you do for each new game you play at home. But trying to adapt such a well-designed board game to a global, location-based Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) game was a tough challenge.” Going on to add: “…we got a little too complicated and a little too far from the original CATAN game.”

The videogame will be going out with a bang though, with the team saying: “we have some gameplay ideas that we are planning will make the next few months of gameplay really exciting!” Also, with a couple of months to go players will be able to spend their remaining gold balance on cut-price shop items or transfer their currency to Pokémon Go.

With Niantic Labs closing Catan: World Explorers it shows the studio can’t always replicate the massive success of Pokémon Go, so it’s unclear if this will have any effect on upcoming titles like Transformers: Heavy Metal. Other franchises to get into the mobile AR gaming genre include Harry Potter and most recently The Witcher: Monster Slayer. For continued updates on AR, keep reading VRFocus.

June 14, 2021

Team up With the Autobots in AR Game Transformers: Heavy Metal in 2021

Niantic Labs is used to bringing big name IP’s like Pokemon and Harry Potter into augmented reality (AR) and today it’s revealed another. The AR specialist company has announced a collaboration with Hasbro and TOMY on a new AR videogame called Transformers: Heavy Metal.

Built on the Niantic Lightship platform Transformers: Heavy Metal will see players team up with Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and other Autobots as they battle the Decepticons. Seattle-based Very Very Spaceship is leading development creating a narrative where players join the Guardian Network, a group of humans helping the Autobots. As one of these Guardians, players have to discover resources and regions across the world whilst battling Decepticons in turn-based battles, either solo or with friends.

“Transformers is the perfect franchise for AR. Battling and interacting with giant robots in the real world is an amazing experience,” said John Hanke, CEO of Niantic. “We want to live up to the high expectations of Transformers fans around the world and bring them a game unlike anything they’ve played before.”

If you’ve played either Pokemon GO or Harry Potter: Wizards Unite then you’ll know the type of real-world gaming Niantic Labs encourages through its projects, requiring players to get out and about to maximise the experience. This is thanks to the Lightship platform Niantic has developed, providing real-time 3D mapping and multiplayer social experiences which developers can use to build their own AR worlds using the Niantic Lightship ARDK.

Specific gameplay details for Transformers: Heavy Metal have yet to be revealed but there shouldn’t be too long to wait to find out. While a global launch is slated for later in 2021 a soft launch will be taking place in select markets soon.

Transformers: Heavy Metal is in no way the franchises’ first foray into immersive gaming. There’s been Transformers: VR Invasion and Transformers: VR Battle Arena for location-based entertainment (LBE) venues, while back in 2017 saw Cade’s Junkyard AR Experience allowed players to control Bumblebee.

As further details for Transformers: Heavy Metal are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.

April 4, 2021

The VR Job Hub: TG0, Niantic Labs, HP & Space Bit Development

Location	Company	Role	Link
London, UK	TG0	Website Developer & UI/UX Designer	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	TG0	Senior Software Developer & Manager	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	TG0	Ecommerce Manager/Growth Hacker	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	TG0	Community Manager	Click Here to Apply
San Francisco, CA	Niantic Labs	Game Designer, Pokémon GO	Click Here to Apply
San Francisco, CA	Niantic Labs	Head of Developer Relations – AR Platform	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Niantic Labs	Senior Game Designer	Click Here to Apply
San Francisco, CA	Niantic Labs	UX Designer, Platform	Click Here to Apply
Tokyo, Japan	Niantic Labs	UX Designer – APAC	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Niantic Labs	Art Director – EMEA	Click Here to Apply
London, UK	Niantic Labs	Senior Technical Artist	Click Here to Apply
Los Angeles, CA	Niantic Labs	Art Director	Click Here to Apply
San Francisco, CA	Niantic Labs	Technical Artist	Click Here to Apply
Sunnyvale, CA	Niantic Labs	Head of AR OS Engineering	Click Here to Apply
Sunnyvale, CA	Niantic Labs	AR Engineering Manager	Click Here to Apply
Fort Collins, CL / San Diego, CA	HP	Marketing Operations	Click Here to Apply
Fort Collins, CL / San Diego, CA	HP	Business Operations Manager	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Winnipeg, Canada	Space Bit Development	Sales Team Member	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Winnipeg, Canada	Space Bit Development	Raspberry Pi & Python Developer	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Winnipeg, Canada	Space Bit Development	JavaScript WebXR Developer	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Winnipeg, Canada	Space Bit Development	Unity3D Developer	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Winnipeg, Canada	Space Bit Development	Project Manager	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Winnipeg, Canada	Space Bit Development	Web Application Developer	Click Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

March 31, 2021

Niantic Labs Showcases 5G AR Demo Codename: Urban Legends

Recently, augmented reality (AR) specialist Niantic Labs has been showcasing some exciting projects in the works, like the collaboration with Nintendo on a Pikmin title, and teasing some new hardware. Then there are its plans for large-scale multiplayer on 5G, unveiling Codename: Urban Legends.

With ultra-low latency and high bandwidth capabilities, 5G is being viewed as a core technology for the future of AR and virtual reality (VR) entertainment, hence why Niantic Labs created the Planet-Scale AR Alliance last year with members including Deutsche Telekom, EE, Globe Telecom, Orange and Verizon. Codename: Urban Legends has been created to demo the combined technologies, with some of those operators already network testing the videogame.

Offering what looks to be a far more active experience than Pokemon GO, Codename: Urban Legends requires players to team up and rescue mythical allies by blasting monster with magical spells. The early tests have allowed the game to handle 10 times as many players simultaneously whilst seeing a similar level of improvement when it comes to latency.

“We’re really excited to partner with Niantic and the Planet-Scale AR Alliance to enable real-time immersive multiplayer AR gaming with our advanced 5G and MEC network enabled by MobiledgeX. Edge enablement is crucial to our ability to deliver trusted, secure user experiences that demand high bandwidth, low latency, and real-time spatial awareness regardless of the application or industry being served,” said Dr. Alex Choi, Senior Vice President of Head of Strategy & Technology Innovation, Deutsche Telekom in a statement.

“Codename: Urban Legends is just the type of creative AR multiplayer game we envisioned benefiting from our leading network, and our customers will be able to see and feel the difference 5G Ultra Wideband brings when playing the game,” Erin McPherson, Vice President, Consumer Content and Partnerships, Verizon adds.

5G is becoming more widely available with all the latest smartphones featuring the tech so hopefully, it won’t be long before Codename: Urban Legends sees a public launch. There’s still Pikmin AR to look forward to this year plus further news on Catan: World Explorers. As details arise, VRFocus will let you know.

March 30, 2021

Pokemon GO Studio Niantic Labs Teases AR Glasses

Augmented Reality (AR) specialist Niantic Labs has created some of the most popular titles to use the technology, including Pokemon GO, Ingress Prime and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. But it seems the company isn’t purely interested in software with a recent Tweet from CEO John Hanke teasing a pair of glasses.

Exciting to see the progress we’re making to enable new kinds of devices that leverage our platform… pic.twitter.com/yYglk4q89G

— John Hanke (@johnhanke) March 29, 2021

With just a singular image to go on Niantic Labs is either in the process of making its own AR glasses or a more basic pair of smart glasses. The former would be along the lines of Nreal Light with spatial and hand-tracking capabilities, whilst the latter would provide a simpler heads-up display providing digital information in a users vision. From Hanke’s comment regarding “devices that leverage our platform”, meaning the Niantic Real World Platform which all of its videogames are built on, this device could well be a fully-fledged pair of AR glasses.

This would be a very big step for the company considering the AR hardware market is very much in its infancy. That’s set to change this year with glasses coming to market which attaches to 5G capable smartphones to run apps and view entertainment content. Recently, Qualcomm unveiled its XR1 AR Smart Viewer Reference Design helping OEMs reduce the time it takes to bring AR glasses to market.

Niantic Labs device could very well use this reference design or be leveraging a completely unique design. The lens looks very thin and compact, there are holes underneath which could indicate a speaker and then there’s the snazzy fabric logo running down the arm. It looks quite stylish at any rate, a factor the industry has been trying to tackle to push the technology mainstream.

This isn’t the first time Niantic Labs has publically showcased a desire to expand beyond smartphone AR gaming. During Microsoft Ignite at the beginning of March, the two companies showcased Pokemon GO working on HoloLens 2. Only a proof-of-concept, the demo saw Hanke wander around a garden, interacting with Pokemon like Pikachu by giving them some fruit.

Hopefully, this initial tease turns out to be Niantic Labs stepping into AR hardware and the possibility of playing Pokemon GO without having to constantly stare at your phone screen. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.

March 23, 2021

AR Pikmin Confirmed for 2021 as Nintendo & Niantic Labs Collaborate

Augmented reality (AR) specialist Niantic Labs – best known for Pokemon GO – has announced that it entered a new partnership with Nintendo. Working together on a series of mobile applications, to begin with, the companies plan to launch an AR videogame based on the Pikmin franchise.

Niantic Labs will be developing real-world AR experiences based on Nintendo’s beloved characters, so that could very well see Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid Prime and many more get the AR treatment. As mentioned, its those lovable, colourful helpers the Pikmin who will be first. In a similar fashion to Pokemon GO, the Pikmin title will encourage players to get out and about for a healthy gaming experience.

There’s no official name just yet for the AR Pikmin videogame but it is scheduled to launch worldwide later this year. It’ll be the first title created by Niantic Tokyo Studio, the development studio Niantic established in April 2018. If you’re interested in walking around your local park with digital Pikmin at your feet then you can pre-register for the app here.

“Niantic’s AR technology has made it possible for us to experience the world as if Pikmin are secretly living all around us,” said Shigeru Miyamoto, Representative Director, Fellow, Nintendo, in a statement. “Based on the theme of making walking fun, our mission is to provide people with a new experience that’s different from traditional games. We hope that the Pikmin and this app will become a partner in your life.”

“As we continue to expand our games portfolio, it was a natural next step to team up with Nintendo,” said John Hanke, CEO of Niantic. “We’re looking forward to shaping the future of AR together, bringing Nintendo’s beloved game characters to life for mobile game players around the world.”

Earlier this month Niantic Labs showcased another AR project it was currently developing. During Microsoft Ignite the studio demoed a prototype version of Pokemon GO working on HoloLens 2. Niantic CEO and Founder John Hanke strolled around a park interacting with Pokemon using the device’s hand tracking.

The potential for Nintendo characters in AR could be massive, so as further details are released regarding Pikmin VRFocus will keep you updated.

March 2, 2021

Pokémon GO Demo Shown on HoloLens 2 at Microsoft Ignite

During today’s Microsoft Ignite event, in collaboration with Niantic Labs, the companies showcased what the possible future of Pokémon GO could be. They demoed a prototype of the augmented reality (AR) videogame on HoloLens 2 for the first time.

Currently just a proof-of-concept, the demo was part of Microsoft’s Mesh announcement to build shared experiences in mixed reality (MR). In the video which firmly pointed out that what was being shown wasn’t for consumer use, Niantic CEO and Founder John Hanke strolled through a park with various Pokémon running around his feet.

Using HoloLens 2’s hand tracking he then brings up his left hand which activates a menu UI, giving three options; a Poké Ball, Fruit and Pokémon, the latter offering a list of his available creatures. Selecting Pikachu, Hanke goes onto feed the famous yellow character some fruit before continuing with the presentation which doesn’t involve a battle, unfortunately.

It’s a tantalising look at the future of arguably the most popular AR title, where players no longer have to look at their phone screen because it’ll all appear in a set of AR glasses. That’s going to be some way off as devices like HoloLens 2 aren’t for consumer use, yet the next generation of smart glasses could well achieve that.

“We’re committed to leveraging and expanding our platform to build real-world AR experiences for as many devices as possible and reaching a diverse set of players no matter their physical location,” says Hanke in a blog post. “We’ve only scratched the surface. We know the years ahead to be filled with important achievements which will serve as waypoints in AR’s journey to become a life-changing computing platform.”

AR is viewed by many companies as the future of mobile computing, offering hands-free access to a digital world that interacts with the real one, whether that’s for gaming, work or any other use case. And it’s these kinds of partnerships that help to build that groundwork. As Niantic and Microsoft continue to announce more from their collaboration, VRFocus will keep you update.

February 11, 2021

Niantic Launches Programme Supporting Black AR Developers

It’s currently Black History Month in the US and Niantic Labs is showing its support by announcing a new programme. Called the Black Developers Initiative (BDI), Niantic will provide access, resources and mentorship to Black augmented reality (AR) creators.

The initiative is about funding new projects from Black videogame development teams both indie and veteran alike, helping them build prototypes which could then be released via Niantic’s platform. Teams can apply now and if selected they’ll be provided with five months of development funding, executive mentorship, and development support.

With the aim to create a real-world AR prototype in that time frame, once those five months are up they’ll still be supported, joining: “a growing community of peers and program alumni who they can continue to build relationships with beyond the duration of the program,” states Niantic.

An extension of the company’s Beyond Reality Initiative, BDI has already signed its first team, W!CKED SAiNTS Studio, a Black and Women-led studio currently developing World Reborn. Utilising graphic-novel style storytelling, World Reborn is a mobile title “where players practice becoming a hero (dealing with bullying, prejudice, etc.).”

On the initiative Niantic Labs Founder and CEO, John Hanke said in a blog post: “Increasing content that represents a more diverse view of the world is critical and central to Niantic’s mission to inspire people to explore the world together.”

Applications for the Niantic Beyond Reality: Black Developers Initiative are open until Sunday, 14th March 2021. Apply after that date and you might be considered for the next programme.

Over the past few years, Niantic Labs has made a big name for itself with titles like Pokémon GO and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. The next AR videogame VRFocus is awaiting news on is Catan: World Explorers revealed back in 2019. There have been no further updates since then so in the meantime Catan VR has just launched for Oculus Quest.

Also celebrating Black History Month is Bigscreen, creating a new ‘Black Cinema’ category featuring free (ad-supported) films. For further updates on the latest XR diversity initiatives, keep reading VRFocus.

May 26, 2020

Pokémon GO’s new Reality Blending Feature Will Improve Your Digital Buddy’s Realism

While not initially crucial to playing Pokémon GO, the augmented reality (AR) feature has slowly been improved so that users are more likely to utilise it, especially when it comes to interacting with your Buddy. Today, Niantic Labs has revealed a couple of new AR features set to arrive, enhancing the experience further.

The first is Reality Blending, adding occlusion to make the Buddy feature that little bit more realistic. As the above GIF demonstrates, this allows your Pokémon to be obscured by real-world objects, so they could essentially run and hide, popping out from behind a couch.

Niantic Labs has been working on this for a while, previously releasing a video in 2018 featuring Pikachu and Eevee. Reality Blending is being tested as part of snapshots, with the studio noting: “This cutting-edge AR feature will roll out for testing to a small number of random Trainers with certain Android devices, starting with the Samsung Galaxy S9, Samsung Galaxy S10, Google Pixel 3, and Google Pixel 4.”

In addition to Reality Blending, Niantic Labs wants to develop 3-D maps of existing PokéStops and Gyms with help from the Pokémon GO community. Called PokéStop Scan, this opt-in feature will be made available to level 40 Trainers early next month, followed by lower-level players in the future. Niantic Labs wants players to record a 10-second max video from as many angles as possible so they can generate dynamic 3-D maps.

“This can give us a better understanding of how virtual objects persist and where they are in relation to one another, which will help us improve the game’s overall AR experiences. In addition, the 3-D objects allow our devices to further understand what they are looking at in order to augment reality in real time,” the company adds.

As Pokémon GO was always about getting you out and about for some healthy gameplay, the current coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing lockdown’s have meant Niantic Labs has needed to change tact, encouraging at home initiatives where possible. The latest is Play at Home, noting the various ways you can enjoy the videogame without going too far.

As Pokémon GO‘s AR features are improved, VRFocus will keep you updated on the latest announcements.