Niantic, the developer behind the hugely successful Pokémon Go game, has expanded its UK operations with the acquisition of London-based games studio Sensible Object. San Francisco based Niantic is gearing up for the release of its Harry Potter augmented reality game Wizard's Unite, but is looking to further build on its AR platform with the addition of new companies and technologies. Sensible Object is best known for the AR game Beasts of Balance, which combined physical building toys with a mobile application. The studio also released a "voice-augmented" trivia board game called When In Rome used in conjunction with Amazon's Alexa devices. John Hanke, Niantic’s chief executive, said in a blog post that Sensible Object would “focus its efforts on building all new real-world AR experiences”. “The team’s deep roots in large-scale outdoor activations in particular is very complementary to the many Niantic real world events we host around the world to engage with our loyal players,” he said.
Alexa -backed Niantic, creator of the Beasts of Balance app, has acquired London -based games studio Sensible Object as part of the San Francisco -baed firm's strategy of expanding its AR platform. Sensible Object, which previously partnered with Amazon on a trivia board game for its Alexa device, will focus on creating new real-world AR experiences post-acquisition, according to Alexa CEO Pokémon Go .