Pokemon Go
has taken the world by storm, and it’s not showing any signs of stopping. Even though it’s only officially available in six markets, including the US, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the UK, and Italy, Pokemon Go is played unofficially in other regions of the world as well. However, developer Niantic plans to expand the rollout of Pokemon Go to 200 countries and regions, and it will all happen “relatively soon.”
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The news comes from Niantic’s CEO John Hanke, who told Reuters that Pokemon Go will cover the entire world soon. He did not commit to actual release dates for future rollouts, but said that Ingress, Niantic’s previous augmented reality (AR) game, needed a month or two to reach that many markets.
Hanke also confirmed that the AR sensation is going to launch in Japan and South Korea soon. The rollout in South Korea is hindered by the fact that Google’s maps functions are restricted, due to security issues with North Korea, Reuters explains. But “there are solutions to that,” he added. South Korea is a major market for gaming, the world’s fourth-largest following the China, the US, and Japan.
Chinese players will probably have to wait a while longer before Pokemon Go rolls out, as there are regulations that have to be considered for the region.
Finally, Hanke also confirmed that the company is going to introduce some sort of sponsorship scheme in the game in the future, which will designate some stores and vending machines as Poke Stops and Gyms in the game. The same scheme works with Ingress as well, where Niantic works with eight sponsors. Pokemon Go is likely to receive the same number of sponsors.
