Submitted by Sammy Snyder on
Niantic, in collaboration with The Pokémon Company, is now accepting applications for field testers for its upcoming mobile Pokémon title. Pokémon GO is a real world game that combines mobile location technology and augmented reality so players can go outside and catch wild Pokémon with their Android or iOS devices. The game is slated for a 2016 release, and Niantic is looking for early testers to help make it "launch-ready."
Interested Android and iOS users can sign up to field test the game on the Pokémon GO website. There's only a limited number of slots open, and players have to agree to a privacy policy before signing up. There's also a long list of other requirements, including owning an iPhone 5 or later. The website notes that "testers will be selected based on a variety of factors which may include OS-types, experience in real world games and an element of luck." Testers will be notified via email when they're selected.
If you do sign up to be a tester make sure you note that "test player accounts and game data will not be transferred to the release version," and your test player data will be wiped multiple times without notice. The game is also in beta which means all final features may not be available or work on the test version.
A video demo of the game was leaked from a talk that Niantic CEO, John Hanke gave at SXSW in March. The video footage was met with mixed response from Pokémon fans, but it is really too early to tell anything about it.