Selected "Pokémon" fans in the United States can experience the early version of "Pokémon GO," the augmented-reality mobile game being developed by Google's Niantic Labs in partnership with The Pokémon Company. The studio is now inviting beta testers for its upcoming game.
The company made the announcement last Monday, May 16, where it is inviting U.S. residents to take part in their upcoming field test. This will be the fourth country on the list, after Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
It said, "The Pokémon Company and Niantic invite users to field test Pokémon GO in the United States of America. Users can visit http://pokemongo.nianticlabs.com to sign up. Please note that sign up does not guarantee access to the field test. The Pokémon GO field test will give users the opportunity to share early feedback and help improve the Pokémon GO experience."
There are no specific details when it comes to launching the game. The company is still in the fine-tuning process and a launch may still take a little more time to happen. The field test in different countries will provide the developer with feedback from its participants and use it to improve the game even further
PC Mag reported that according to the game site, "because the game involves numerous people playing in multiple countries at the same time, we have a lot to test before we publicly launch."
Fans who are planning to participate should have an Android device with version 4.3 or later installed, or an iPhone 5 with at least version 8 of iOS. Those who will be lucky enough to be chosen as participants should bear in mind that no monetary compensation will be given after the beta test and all pieces of information related to the "Pokémon GO" are all confidential.
Polygon added that all players' data will be wiped clean before the game's public launch, which will put every player on equal footing.
"Pokémon GO" is expected to be released within the year and will be available for both Android and iOS devices.
