Niantic has taken to Twitter to explain there is more to explore in the world than meets the eye. They’ve announced TRANSFORMERS: Heavy Metal, a new augmented reality game!
TRANSFORMERS: Heavy Metal is releasing in 2021 with a closed beta test planned this June for New Zealand according to Bloomberg.
The game is made in partnership with Hasbro, the owners of the Transformers franchise. Apparently they have been in talks for almost eight years.
“It’s almost as if it [Transformers] was designed for augmented reality,” says John Hanke, Niantic CEO.
“This isn’t battle on a distant planet in a galaxy far, far away. It’s about giant robots coming to Earth and having battles in the middle of Los Angeles. For us, giant robots walking around the real world is just too good to pass up.”
TRANSFORMERS: Heavy Metal is also being worked on by developers Very Very Spaceship along with Niantic. The game will have players battling with digital robots around the world.
Niantic has been going full throttle on augmented reality the past year. Announcing a partnership with Nintendo for a Pikmin AR game and even teasing smartglasses.
Despite the pandemic, Niantic’s games such as Pokémon GO have managed to grow. The game is increasing in monthly active users and revenue.
Transformers is extremely popular, and could lend itself well to an augmented reality experience. Niantic has the experience and tools to make a great game.
You can sign up for more information and pre-register for TRANFORMERS: Heavy Metal over on the Official Website.