List of geolocation-based video games

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This is a list of geolocation-based video games, also known as location-based video games. The games on this list typically run on a mobile phone using GPS for geolocation. Some games on this list also have augmented reality features.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
TitlePlatformDeveloper/PublisherRelease dateNotes
BotFighters [1] [2] [ unreliable source? ] Java ME It's Alive Mobile Games AB!2001-03-14One of the first location-based games [3]
Sidewalk Squirrel [4] [5] Windows Mobile Sneaker Entertainment2005Discontinued
SpecTrek [6] [ unreliable source? ] [7] [ unreliable source? ] Android Games4All2009
Shadow Cities [8] [9] iOS Grey Area 2010Discontinued
Turf (video game) [10] [11] iOS, Android Andrimon2010-07-10
Ingress & Ingress Prime [12] iOS, Android Niantic 2013-12-14
Colors [13] Gizmondo, iOS, Android [14] [ unreliable source? ] Indie Studios N/AGame was cancelled and later released separately
Pokémon Go [15] [ unreliable source? ] iOS, Android Niantic 2016-07-06Also has augmented reality functionality
Draconius GO [16] iOS, Android Elyland2017
Maguss [17] [18] [ unreliable source? ] iOS, Android Mawa2018-02Discontinued
Jurassic World Alive [19] [20] [21] iOS, Android Ludia 2018
Ghostbusters World [22] iOS, Android NextAge2018
The Walking Dead: Our World [23] iOS, Android Next Games2018
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite [24] [25] iOS, Android Niantic, WB Games San Francisco 2019Discontinued
Dragon Quest Walk [26] [27] iOS, Android COLOPL, Square Enix 2019
Let's Hunt Monsters [28] [29] [30] [ unreliable source? ] iOS, Android TiMi Studio Group, Tencent Games 2019
Minecraft Earth [31] [32] iOS, Android Mojang Studios 2019Discontinued
Catan: World Explorers [33] [34] iOS, Android Niantic, Catan GmbH2020Discontinued
Pikmin Bloom [35] [36] iOS, Android Niantic 2021Collaboration with Nintendo
Monster Hunter Now iOS, Android Ninatic, Capcom2023
Melody World [37] Android Daniel Santer2024

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Augmented reality</span> View of the real world with computer-generated supplementary features

Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated 3D content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be defined as a system that incorporates three basic features: a combination of real and virtual worlds, real-time interaction, and accurate 3D registration of virtual and real objects. The overlaid sensory information can be constructive, or destructive. As such, it is one of the key technologies in the reality-virtuality continuum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mobile game</span> Video game played on a mobile device

A mobile game is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone, tablet, PDA to handheld game console, portable media player or graphing calculator, with and without network availability. The earliest known game on a mobile phone was a Tetris variant on the Hagenuk MT-2000 device from 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wikitude</span> Austrian mobile augmented reality technology provider

Wikitude is a mobile augmented reality (AR) technology provider based in Salzburg, Austria. Founded in 2008, Wikitude initially focused on providing location-based augmented reality experiences through the Wikitude World Browser App. In 2012, the company restructured its proposition by launching the Wikitude SDK, a development framework that uses image recognition and tracking, and geolocation technology.

<i>Ingress</i> (video game) Location-based augmented reality mobile game

Ingress is an augmented reality (AR) mobile game developed and published by Niantic for Android and iOS devices. The game first released on December 14, 2013, for Android devices and then for iOS devices on July 14, 2014. The game is free-to-play, uses a freemium business model, and supports in-app purchases for additional in-game items. The mobile app has been downloaded more than 20 million times worldwide as of November 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Location-based game</span> Game which reacts to the players location

A location-based game is a type of game in which the gameplay evolves and progresses via a player's location. Location-based games must provide some mechanism to allow the player to report their location, usually with GPS. Many location-based games are video games that run on a mobile phone with GPS capability, known as location-based video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niantic, Inc.</span> Mobile app and video game development company

Niantic, Inc. is an American software development company based in San Francisco. Niantic is best known for developing the augmented reality mobile games Ingress and Pokémon Go. The company was formed as Niantic Labs in 2010 as an internal startup within Google. The company became an independent entity in October 2015 when Google restructured under Alphabet Inc. Niantic has additional offices in Bellevue, Los Angeles, Sunnyvale, Seattle, Lawrence, Tokyo, London, Hamburg, and Zurich.

<i>Pokémon Go</i> 2016 mobile game

Pokémon Go is a 2016 augmented reality (AR) mobile game, part of the Pokémon franchise, developed and published by Niantic in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company for iOS and Android devices. It uses mobile devices with GPS to locate, capture, train, and battle virtual Pokémon, which appear as if they are in the player's real-world location. The game is free-to-play; it uses a freemium business model combined with local advertising and supports in-app purchases for additional in-game items. The game launched with around 150 species of Pokémon, which had increased to around 700 by 2021.

<i>Harry Potter: Wizards Unite</i> Defunct location-based augmented reality mobile game

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was an augmented reality (AR) mobile game developed by Niantic and WB Games San Francisco, and published by Niantic, under license from Portkey Games. The game is based on the Harry Potter series and part of the Wizarding World media franchise, created by J. K. Rowling. Wizards Unite begins as the player creates their avatar and starts their journey at the player's real world location. The player character engages with the world by casting spells, discovering artefacts and facing known characters and beasts of the Wizarding World universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nintendo mobile games</span> Overview of mobile games by and the relationship with mobile games of Nintendo

Nintendo, a Japanese home and handheld video game console manufacturer and game developer, has traditionally focused on games that utilize unique elements of its consoles. However, the growth of the mobile gaming market in the early 2010s led to several successive fiscal quarters where they were running at a loss, partially due to the failure of the Wii U. Nintendo, led by president Satoru Iwata at the time, developed a strategy for entering into the mobile games market with development partner DeNA, as a means of introducing their franchise properties to mobile players with a goal of bringing them to buy Nintendo's consoles later. From 2015 to 2020 Nintendo has internally developed a number of mobile games, while also publishing games with other developers, including games outside of the initial DeNA partnership. Several of them have entered the top-downloaded games list on the iOS App Store and Google Play stores, earning over US$100 million in revenue in total. However, as Nintendo's next console, the Nintendo Switch, proved a financial success for the company, coupled with dwindling numbers on its mobile games during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nintendo quietly backed off its mobile strategy starting in 2020, though continued to back Pokémon Go and future Pokémon games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portkey Games</span> Video game label

Portkey Games is a video game label owned by Warner Bros. Games founded in 2017 and dedicated to creating gaming experiences related to the Wizarding World. In the beginning, the company's primary focus was on publishing mobile games, but in 2023, they diversified by launching Hogwarts Legacy for both PC and consoles.

Cluetivity is a geolocation-based and augmented reality (AR) software platform owned by Life Action Games GmbH. Founded in 2010 by a group of scavenger hunt and tech fans, Cluetivity offers both outdoor and indoor interactive games for iOS devices. The company is currently led by CEO Michael Schiemann.

Since its release in 2016, multiple real-life events and gatherings based on the augmented reality (AR) mobile game Pokémon Go have been held by its developer Niantic Labs outside of unofficial player gatherings. Typically, the events involve increased in-game rewards for participating players and are often held in cooperation with local organizations or governments.

<i>Minecraft Earth</i> 2019 video game

Minecraft Earth was an augmented reality and geolocation-based sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios and Blackbird interactive and published by Xbox Game Studios. A spin-off of the video game Minecraft, it was first announced in May 2019, and was available on Android and iOS. The game was free-to-play, and was first released in early access on 17 October 2019. The game received its final update in January 2021 and officially shut down on 30 June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

<i>Catan: World Explorers</i> Location-based augmented reality mobile game

Catan: World Explorers was an augmented reality (AR) mobile game developed by Niantic, based on the board game Settlers of Catan. It was announced in 2019, soft-launched in some countries the following year, and discontinued in November 2021.

<i>Lets Hunt Monsters</i> 2019 video game

Let's Hunt Monsters is a 2019 geolocation-based mobile game developed by TiMi Studio Group and published in China by Tencent. The game has an augmented reality mode, similar to other contemporaneous geolocation-based games. Let's Hunt Monsters has often been labelled a clone of Pokémon Go due to similarities. The game is centered around catching digital creatures based on Chinese mythology.

<i>Dragon Quest Walk</i> 2019 video game

Dragon Quest Walk is a geolocation-based role-playing video game developed by COLOPL and published by Square Enix for Android and iOS. It is a free-to-play entry in the Dragon Quest series and was released in Japan on 12 September 2019.

<i>Pikmin Bloom</i> 2021 mobile game

Pikmin Bloom is a 2021 augmented reality mobile game in the Pikmin series, developed and published by Niantic. Like Pokémon Go, it rewards players for spending time outside. The player's real-world movements are rewarded with items for Pikmin creatures. Its worldwide rollout began in late October 2021.

A geolocation-based video game or location-based video game is a type of video game where the gameplay evolves and progresses via a player's location in the world, often attained using GPS. Most location-based video games are mobile games that make use of the mobile phone's built in GPS capability, and often have real-world map integration. One of the most recognizable location-based mobile games is Pokémon Go.

References

  1. ↑ "BotFighters for Mobile - GameFAQs". GameFAQs . Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  2. ↑ "It's Alive!". Archived from the original on 2005-02-07. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  3. ↑ "Can You See Me Now? | Location Based Game". Blast Theory. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
  4. ↑ "Location Based Games Patent Application".
  5. ↑ "Sidewalk Squirrel Site Archive". Archived from the original on 2006-11-04.
  6. ↑ "SpecTrek - Android app on AppBrain". AppBrain. 2009-12-17. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  7. ↑ "SpecTrek - Apps on Google Play". play.google.com. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  8. ↑ Hill, David J. (2011-07-08). "Players Rule Their Real Neighborhoods with Shadow Cities, a Location-Based MMORPG for the iPhone (VIDEO)". Singularity Hub. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  9. ↑ "Shadow Cities finds that mobile gaming is surprisingly stationary – Old GigaOm". old.gigaom.com. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  10. ↑ Lundgren, Erik (2015-07-21). "Mobilspelet som håller dig aktiv". norran.se (in Swedish). Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  11. ↑ "Hundratals deltagare väntas till "Turf-VM"". Barometern . 2016-05-17. Archived from the original on 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  12. ↑ "Ingress Prime". Ingress Prime. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  13. ↑ Graham-Rowe, Duncan (2005-06-12). "Gamers turn cities into a battleground". New Scientist . Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  14. ↑ Freer, Carl (2015-11-30). "Carl Freer to Launch Colors for iOS and Google Play, the World's First GPS-Based, Open-World Shooter". Marketwire . Archived from the original on 2015-12-06. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  15. ↑ Osworth, A. E. (2016-07-09). "Pokémon Go Came Out In the US, Let's Catch 'Em All". Autostraddle . Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  16. ↑ "Welcome to Draconius GO!".
  17. ↑ Conditt, Jessica (12 August 2016). "'Maguss,' the game that definitely isn't 'Harry Potter Go'". Engadget . Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  18. ↑ "Maguss - Wizarding MMORPG - app store revenue, download estimates, usage estimates and SDK data | Apptopia". apptopia.com. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  19. ↑ Bell, Karissa (2018-03-06). "Augmented reality dinosaurs are here thanks to 'Jurassic World Alive'". Mashable . Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  20. ↑ Reilly, Luke (2018-03-07). "Universal Announces Pokémon Go-Style Jurassic World Mobile Game". IGN. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  21. ↑ Takahashi, Dean (2018-03-07). "Ludia unveils Jurassic World Alive mobile game". VentureBeat . Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  22. ↑ "IGN: Ghostbusters World Announced". 23 February 2018.
  23. ↑ "THE WALKING DEAD: OUR WORLD COMING JULY 12TH FROM NEXT GAMES AND AMC".
  24. ↑ "NIANTIC, INC. AND WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP FOR HARRY POTTER: WIZARDS UNITE, AN AUGMENTED REALITY MOBILE GAME INSPIRED BY J.K. ROWLING'S WIZARDING WORLD". Niantic. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  25. ↑ Colby, Clifford (2021-08-08). "Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is Pokemon Go with magic wands - CNET". CNET . Archived from the original on 2021-08-08. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  26. ↑ Inc, Aetas. "「ドラゴンクエストウォーク」，ゲーム要素を紹介する企画「おさらい冒険記」がスタート。第1回は「スマホをもって、ぼうけんにでかけよう編」". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-10-10.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  27. ↑ "『ドラゴンクエストウォーク』クエスト形式で進むゲームの流れを紹介。目的地を決めて歩んでいくのは、自分自身！ | ゲーム・エンタメ最新情報のファミ通.com". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  28. ↑ Ye, Josh (2019-04-24). "There's a Pokémon Go clone from Tencent that copies almost everything". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  29. ↑ Huang, Zheping (2019-04-13). "China now has game that merges Pokémon Go and CryptoKitties into one". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  30. ↑ "《一起来捉妖》亮相新文创生态大会-一起来捉妖官方网站-腾讯游戏". zhuoyao.qq.com. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  31. ↑ Hardawar, Devindra (17 May 2019). "'Minecraft Earth' makes the world your augmented reality playground". Engadget . Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  32. ↑ Campbell, Colin (2019-05-17). "Minecraft Earth is Microsoft's wild shot at the next Pokemon Go-style AR blockbuster". Polygon . Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  33. ↑ Forde, Matthew (2019-11-20). "Location-based Catan: World Explorers mobile game using Niantic's Real World Platform". Pocket Gamer . Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  34. ↑ Kumparak, Greg (2019-11-19). "Is this Niantic's next game?". TechCrunch . Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  35. ↑ Stein, Scott. "Pikmin Bloom: How Niantic and Nintendo's new game mixes walking, memory and AR". CNET. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  36. ↑ "Nintendo teams with Pokemon Go studio Niantic on AR apps". The Business Times . 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  37. ↑ "GPS-based AR Multiplayer about Music & Rhythm".
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