Introducing NBA All-World, an AR game from the creators of Pokémon Go

The NBA and NBPA have announced "NBAAll-World," an officially licensed geolocation-augmented-realitybasketball game with Niantic, the creators of Pokémon Go.

The free-to-play game allows users tofind and compete against today’s NBA players, then recruit them tojoin their team. NBA All-World is available globally on the AppStore and Google Play.

Just like with Pokémon Go, playerswill explore neighborhoods around the world and encounter today'sNBA stars. Users can challenge the players, add them to their team,level them up and compete to become the ruler of local courts.Real-world drops will allow players to collect gear from well-knownbrands. Players can also chat with friends, and compete inone-on-one tournaments to win in-game items.

“Sports are a huge part of people’slives and a huge part of pop culture,” said John Hanke, the founderand CEO of Niantic. “Our version of an NBA basketball game startswith exciting one-on-one gameplay and expands from there to includethe major elements of basketball culture, including music, fashion,sneakers and more – all of which are integrated into real-worldlocations.”

Are you ready to ball? Get into the gameplayof NBA All-World in episode 2 of “Beyond The Game.” @NBAAllWorld🏀 pic.twitter.com/6Q55ogVuAR

— Are you ready to go All-World? 🏀 (@NianticLabs) January 24, 2023

“We look forward to our fans fullyimmersing themselves in NBA All-World as they develop deeperconnections with players, the league and each other,” said MattHolt, the NBA's head of consumer products. “Through ourcollaboration with Niantic and the NBPA, this game helps expand theworld of the NBA and its culture into virtually every neighborhoodaround the globe.”

As Niantic’s first officially licensedsports title,NBA All-World inspires people to explore theworld to experience everything the game has tooffer:

Explore Your World:Get out and move inthe real world to discover NBA players to compete against andrecruit to your roster, as well as Gear, Boosts, Challenges andmore.Build Your Team:Go head-to-head againsttoday’s NBA stars in a variety of challenges to recruit newplayers. If you’ve already recruited a player, challenge them againin your next encounter to practice your shot and earn more Cred.Recruit stronger players as your Team Level increases.Push Your Limits:Power up players withOffense, Defense and Fitness Boosts. Make sure you keep Energy highwith Energy Drinks.Rule the Court:Compete in leaderboardchallenges at more than 100,000 basketball courts in the real worldwith Rule the Court. Challenge friends and other players for thetop spot.Rep the Lifestyle:Pick up rare Gear fromsome of your favorite brands at Drop Zones. Look out for specialGear that improves player stats and outfit your team with sneakersand accessories that help you stand out from the crowd.

“We want to help make NBA All-World beas authentic as possible, as well as reach new audiences bybringing NBA players to Niantic’s augmented reality game,” saidJosh Goodstadt, the chief commercial officer for THINK450, thepartnership and innovation arm of the NBPA. “We look forward tousers competing against and assembling their rosters from theirfavorite NBA players around the world.”

Niantic is the company behind PokémonGo, Pikmin Bloom and Ingress, and NBA All-World is the latestaugmented-reality game to be built on their Lightship platform.