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‘Peridot’, Niantic’s Augmented Reality Virtual Pet Game, is Launching Globally May 9th

890 View2023-03-09

Peridot, a virtual pet-style game that incorporated the augmented reality and social gameplay elements for which Niantic is renowned, was unveiled just over a year ago. As I mentioned at the time, I've always believed that cellphones are the ideal medium for virtual pet games because almost everyone owns one and almost always carries one with them wherever they go. I adore the concept of a virtual pet, but I won't be carrying around a bulky keyring any time soon. However, I'll always have my phone with me, increasing the likelihood that I'll actually take care of a virtual pet.

Surprisingly, in the roughly 15 years that smartphones have been around, there simply hasn't been a killer virtual pet program. Although I'm not claiming Peridot will be the next big thing, I'm willing to give it a shot. Check out this brand-new trailer.

The central idea of Peridot is that the titular beings once lived on our planet but then strangely went dormant for a number of generations. Recently reawakened, they are now out having fun exploring the drastically altered world with their peculiar fellow inhabitants, the humans. Every Peridot, according to Niantic, is "100% genetically unique," so in addition to caring for your own pets by feeding, grooming, and making sure they're content, you'll also have the option to cross-breed with other Peridot owners in order to produce intriguing and distinctive new offspring. Peridot will go live worldwide on May 9th, as stated in the blog post and the video above.

Pokémon Go Developer Niantic Announces a New Pet Game, Peridot

Niantic has been working on several AR projects since the success of Pokémon Go. Last year, they worked with Hasbro and Nintendo, and brought us two games, Transformers: Heavy Metal and Pikmin Bloom, respectively. Just yesterday, the developer announced their next original AR project called Peridot. Ziah Fogel, Senior Producer of Peridot, describes the game as a heartwarming adventure where players can raise adorable creatures and explore the world with them together.

TapTap Editor19K2022-04-15