Technology
The next Pokémon Go could be created by game developers with new Google Maps software.
Google has opened Google Maps for everyone to incorporate Maps data in its games, announced the company on Monday.
Its tools allow developers to use Maps information to create games that allow you to explore the modified Pokémon Go version of the real world.
(Niantic, once a Google startup, has its own developing toolset, called the Niantic Real World Platform, to create AR games that utilize live camera and 3D mapping data.)
In March 2018 , Google first released such tools but only a "small number" of developers had access to them, with only 10 games developed so far, according to a Google blog post.
The company says that the platform is used by Indie studios and other developers, so the company is trying to expand their infrastructure to allow all developers to benefit from the platform. Google provides a development software pack for the popular Unity game engine to directly link the Maps data into games.
Google tools enable game developers to do things like transform places in the real world or make places of interest for a game.
Since its launch in 2018 , the company has also added new features to Maps Game Tools, including a way to demonstrate greater levels of detail for areas closer to a player and less detail for people further afield.
This can save valuable battery life, and reduce your telephone processing power.
