Pokemon Go dev Niantic acquires AR studio NZXR

Pokemon Go maker Niantic has acquired augmented reality studio NZXR for an undisclosed fee.

Based in New Zealand, NZXR has worked on a number of "AR-first" experiences including interactive apps and prototypes for smartphones and headsets, providing engineering support on skateboarding title Skatrix and assisting with Unreal Engine-powered interactive theatre experience Destination Mars.

The deal will see NZXR become an integral part of the Niantic design and development team working on multiplayer real-world AR experiences.

"Our goal has always been to create augmented reality experiences that can be enjoyed by millions of people and to build the technology that powers them and third-party applications – Niantic Lightship," said the company.

"The NZXR team will help us accelerate new kinds of AR experiences for the real-world metaverse where our explorers can create, contribute, and interact with digital objects in a way that is persistent and shared by everyone."

In a separate blog post, NZXR said it will continue to make AR concepts tangible on in-development tech at Niantic, while also contributing to Lightship to support "a much wider development community than we ever imagined."