Pokemon GO announced for iOS, Android

Capture, battle, and trade in the real world.

The Pokemon Company has announced Pokemon GO, a new game for iOS and Android smartphones slated for release in 2016, designed to bring the world of Pokemon to the real world.

This project has been in development for the past two years at Ingress developer Niantic Labs, which began as an internal startup at Google, in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokemon Company.

Pokemon GO uses real location information to allow players to experience catching, trading, and battling Pokemon, which roam freely around the real world. For example, you can discover a Bulbasaur hanging around Shinjuku Station, or a Pikachu hiding near the the Eiffel Tower.

Junichi Masuda of Game Freak is helping with the game’s design and music.

Nintendo’s involvement comes in the form of a “Pokemon GO Plus” device, which can be worn like a pin or with a strap on the wrist, which alerts the players of notifications with an LED display and vibration. You can perform certain actions, like throwing a Pokeball, by pressing the LED.

Watch the announcement trailer below.