Niantic wants to raise awareness of small businesses.
In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Niantic, the developer of Pokemon Go, revealed its new Niantic Local Business Recovery Initiative.
The program will give Pokemon Go players the ability to nominate the small and local businesses that they love, and 1,000 of those businesses will be turned into in-game locations, like PokeStops and Gyms, for one year.
In a blog post, Niantic said this initiative is looking for “local businesses starting in the United States, Japan, Great Britain, Canada, and Mexico.”
By turning these businesses into points of interest in Pokemon Go, Niantic will encourage trainers to explore areas that they may have never visited before. While players won’t be obligated to go inside any of these businesses while playing Pokemon Go (that is, they should be able to interact with the PokeStop or Gym from outside), they’ll obviously be free to do so if they wish.
In its post, Niantic commented on the initiative:
“As we look to the months ahead as parts of the world start to recover, we’re also thinking about how we can help safely reopen the outdoors and spark adventures again. We believe this starts by supporting small local businesses that are the backbone of our communities.”
If you want to learn more about this program, and/or nominate a local business, head over to Niantic’s website.
Brandy Berthelson has been writing about video games and technology since 2006, with her work appearing on sites including AOL Games, Digital Spy, and Adweek. When she’s not gaming, Brandy enjoys crafting, baking, and traveling with her husband.
