Chinese fans may finally get a chance to play Pokemon Go
US developer plans to bring popular game to mainland China, where it has been banned since it launched in 2016, but a date has yet to be announced
Fans of Pokemon Go will finally be able to play the popular game in mainland China, though its developer has yet to announce when.
Niantic chief executive John Hanke said the US company intended to bring its games to China, according to a Financial Times report on Monday.
Niantic is best known for its augmented reality (AR) mobile games including Pokemon Go, which was progressively released around the world from July 2016 – including in Hong Kong.
But the location-based game – in which players catch animated characters in the real world using the GPS function on their smartphone via Google Maps – has so far been banned in mainland China, where Google is also blocked.
“China is important to us and we look forward to bringing Pokemon Go to the Chinese market,” a Niantic spokeswoman told the South China Morning Post on Tuesday.
“However, we don’t have any specific launch plans or timelines to announce yet.”
The company has set up a partnership with Chinese games firm NetEase in order to launch in China according to local internet regulations, the Financial Times report said, but Hanke did not go into detail about the plan.
NetEase and other investors had provided US$200 million in funding, the report said.
“We absolutely intend to bring our existing games into China,” Hanke was quoted as saying. “Beyond that, there are opportunities to build games in China, both for China and for the world.”
NetEase declined to comment on the partnership.
Pokemon Go gained a huge following around the world when it was released in summer 2016, but the craze died down almost as quickly as it began.
Niantic admitted that revenues had dropped and the game lost many of its players last year, but Hanke said there was still a small, “solid” group of regular players.
Entering China, the world’s biggest mobile market, would help revive the game’s flagging popularity.
“I would say 2017 was about firing the second stage and getting into a stable orbit ... 2018 is about the journey to Mars,” Hanke told the Financial Times, using a rocket metaphor.
Beijing-based tech investor and commentator Liu Kuang believed the game would succeed in mainland China.
“Over the years, Pokemon Go has accumulated a number of loyal users despite being blocked. These people will all give it a try when it comes to China,” he said.
“NetEase is experienced with international partnerships – such as the one for Minecraft, a very popular game for young Chinese. So I think it may start a new craze for AR games.”
The anticipation is already building among some Chinese gamers.
“Even though we don’t know when it’s coming, I’m glad to hear the news. I’ll keep waiting,” said Ma Xiao, a mobile games player in Shanghai.
But for others, enthusiasm for Pokemon Go has waned.
“I would have totally forgotten about this game if I hadn’t seen this news,” one gamer wrote on microblogging platform Weibo.
Another said: “In 2016, I used a VPN [virtual private network, used to bypass China’s internet restrictions] to play Pokemon Go. Two years have passed and only now are they coming – hoping to make money from us?”
Some Chinese game developers tried to create copycat versions of Pokemon Go after its meteoric success, but they failed to gain traction and met with disapproval from the authorities.
Last January, China’s media regulator said games like Pokemon Go were banned because their location-tracking functions put users at risk and posed a threat to traffic safety.
China’s most popular mobile games include Tencent’s blockbuster Honour of Kings, a multiplayer online battle arena game, and survival games with a focus on social networking.
