Niantic, the developer and publisher of Pokémon GO, announced the induction of 5,00,000 PokéStops and gyms across India by 2 February 2022. The initiative would expand the access and experience of Pokémon GO across new towns and cities by three times.
Along with the update, Trainers will also be able to access the new powered-up PokéStops feature. The feature is available on certain PokéStops and Gyms and will allow Trainers to get better rewards in exchange for submitting AR Scans at the location.
Commenting on the initiative, Niantic VP Omar Tellez said, “We believe India has a vast opportunity given its rapid ascent in mobile gaming, improved technology penetration, improved socio-economic indicators, and a young aspirational population. We want to bring the best game experience to our trainers in India, which is the key objective of introducing more PokéStops and gyms. We will continuously work to be sure the Trainers in India enjoy our game for a long time. Countries and regions like India are where we see the next 100 million players coming from.”
Niantic has dialed up its India strategy in the past 12 months. Recently, it concluded the inaugural edition of Festival of Lights, a global in-game event in Pokémon GO during Diwali week. At the same time, the game celebrated the Holi-inspired event earlier this year with the Festival of Colors. Niantic has also hired talent in the country and is now firming up its future growth strategy to capitalize upon the world’s leader in mobile gaming.