
With Niantic’s later games, competitive elements eased up: Pokémon GO‘s factions (Valor, Mystic, and Instinct) are used to provide in-game bonuses during raids and provides the occasional head-to-head challenge at special events, while Wizards Unite‘s Hogwarts Houses are a purely aesthetic choice, putting much more weight on players’ choice of Wizarding profession to drive gameplay. Many of Niantic’s games have relied on faction-based gameplay in the past, with Ingress fueled by a directly competitive showdown between the green Enlightened faction (the frogs) and the blue Resistance faction (the smurfs) in a strategic game of territory acquisition. All this is in pursuit of Victory Points, which are used to claim victory for your global Faction, as well as in personal Local Games through a season-based structure. Relative scarcity of resources also means some resources might be easier to obtain through trading, as you “befriend and bargain with in-game Catanians”. Not much is known about how CATAN will be adapted for outdoor play, but the game’s website offer a handful of clues of what’s to come: like the tabletop game, collecting lumber, brick, wool, grain and ore provides the literal building blocks for gameplay.

Catan world explorers series#
2019 saw the release of Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, where players catch virtual reproductions of key characters and creatures from the series to maintain the Statute of Secrecy and untangle the mystery of the Calamity that put the Wizarding World at risk in the first place.Īnd now? Niantic has set its sights on bringing beloved tabletop franchise CATAN off the table and out into the real world with CATAN – World Explorers. Enough people took to the streets catching first generation Pokemon together in those first months, it’s still nostalgically referred to as “the summer of Pokémon GO“. 2016 saw the release of Pokémon GO, sending players on a nostalgic trek through local parks and gatherings. For further updates and announcements on Catan: World Explorers keep reading VRFocus.Following Niantic’s breakout hit Ingress in 2012, the company has gone on a world tour of adapting beloved properties for the location-based gaming landscape. As Niantic Labs said to The Verge: “we’ll have more information to share on the title in 2020.”įor some AR gaming a bit sooner why not take a look at Five Night’s at Freddy’s AR: Special Delivery or Minecraft Earth. There are still a few details yet to be revealed regarding some of the gameplay elements and how they will work and be managed in a persistent online world. Achieve success and become a seasonal champion to unlock rewards for characters. How will this work with a geo-location videogame? Players will be able to compete with their team both globally and locally, as well as with friends in personal custom matches.

Strategy will still be key, teaming up with friends to build roads and expand those settlements all towards the goal of getting those 10 victory points. Wheat for sheep anyone? Please!?! Use your resources and a variety of development cards to transform humble settlements into booming metropolises!” You’ll bargain with entertaining in-game characters who are just as strategic as real-life ones. Cities and local landmarks will then be transformed into opportunities to collect resources and build settlements.Ĭlassic Catan resources like Brick, Lumber, Grain, Ore, and Wool will all be available with the official site stating: “Some resources will be abundant in your region, while others you’ll have to trade for. The videogame will combine the fundamental gameplay characteristics that have made Catan so popular alongside geo-location gaming used in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite or Pokemon GO. Catan: World Explorers won’t be constrained by physical board size, offering a massively multiplayer AR experience where players can harvest, trade, and build in the real-world. Now it looks like the franchise will be getting the augmented reality (AR) treatment thanks to Niantic Labs with a title called Catan: World Explorers.

Last year saw Catan VR arrive for various headsets, allowing four players to battle it out online. In its 24-year history, popular board game Settlers of Catan has seen many iterations, from junior versions to ones based on famous franchises.
