Niantic may be known for being the developer behind Pokémon Go, but it actually released a notable augmented reality (AR) game before Pokémon Go, and today Niantic announced a major reboot for that game.
Ingress Prime is now official. Niantic originally released Ingress in 2012, tasking players with picking a team, exploring the real world, and capturing territories to help their faction. Now the game is getting a reboot with a "completely redesigned user interface" and improved sound design.
Niantic says that Ingress Prime will also offer a new, in-depth user experience to help get new and experienced Ingress players up to speed on the conflict and story of the game. There will be a brand new storyline included with Ingress Prime and the global game board will reset, but Niantic says that current Ingress players will retain their in-game progression, level, and items in Ingress Prime.
Above you can see screenshots of the old Ingress (left) and Ingress Prime (right) to compare what the rebooted game will look like.
Ingress Prime will launch on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices in 2018.
Ingress made waves in 2012 for using AR as a major component of its game, and while it did see some success, the game never got as much traction with consumers as Pokémon Go. Now that Niantic has more experience, more name recognition, and more powerful smartphone hardware at its disposal, it's going to give Ingress a major reboot and offer up a new AR game for folks that may not have been into Pokémon Go.
Did you ever play the original Ingress? Are you going to check out Ingress Prime?
