Pokémon Go will finally let you catch Pokémon in real life

An augmented reality game based on the famed Pokémon franchise is in the works for iOS and Android, the Pokémon Company announced today. Pokémon Go will use real locations to encourage players to "explore their neighbourhoods, communities, and the world" in order to capture new Pokémon. It's due for release in 2016, and will be free, albeit complete with as-yet-undisclosed in-app purchases.

Exact details on how Pokémon Go will work are thin on the ground, but a teaser trailer (posted above) shows players exploring the streets to capture Pokémon, trading them between their devices, and taking part in large-scale multiplayer battles either against other players, or against legendary Pokémon like Mewtwo. A brief snippet of gameplay also showed that the game will also feature 3D graphics.

How the series' traditional and much-loved RPG mechanics will make it into Pokémon Go remains to be seen, but it does at least look like it's in good hands. Pokémon Go is being developed by Niantic, the former Google subsidiary known for creating the sci-fi augmented reality game Ingress. Junichi Masuda of Game Freak, game director of the Pokémon series, is also contributing to the project.