Ghostbusters Is Getting Its Own AR Mobile Game

[thunderball]

Video games based on Ghostbusters have come and gone over the years, some hit and some miss, but the studios have never given up on the franchise and that rings true with the all new Ghostbusters augmented reality mobile game, which is set to arrive on mobile devices later this year.

IGN is reporting that during this year's upcoming Game Developers Conference an official announcement will be made revealing the new AR-themed Ghostbusters World title. The game will be available for Android users and for iOS owners. However, details on the specs required to run the game were not revealed at this time. Given the fact that a lot of newer augmented reality-focused games have required anything higher than iOS 10 or iOS 11 to run them, don't be surprised if the requirements are the same for the poltergeist-nabbing mobile title.

 

And speaking of nabbing ghosts... IGN's brief report indicates that the game will be played very similar to the likes of Niantic Labs' 2016 release of Pokemon Go, which was themed around players using their smart device to go around and capture Pokemon.

According to IGN the game will be developed by NextAge and will be called Ghostbusters World. A brief teaser trailer was released giving gamers a slight idea of what to expect from the upcoming game, and was published over on the Sony Pictures YouTube channel.

 

The trailer doesn't reveal much, other than that we have a small idea as to how the gameplay will work. We see kids whipping out the proton blasters and using the streams to presumably capture ghosts. While obviously you won't be throwing your $700 cell phone onto the ground to work as a capture device, it does appear as if you'll have to use your phone to capture ghosts.

A more detailed look at the gameplay will be present at the upcoming GDC event where publisher 4:33 will walk attendees through a demonstration of how the ghost capturing works in Ghostbusters World.

In a way, having the game modeled on Pokemon Go seems pretty smart because it works well within the mythos of the Ghostbusters universe. Players will be able to capture ghosts from the televised cartoons, the previous video games, and all three of the live-action motion pictures.

I imagine the AR technology will be used in very similar ways to Pokemon Go, and the ghosts will appear as 3D images set against real life backdrops.

I do wonder if they'll have enough ghosts from the series to flesh out a long lasting run on the market. Player engagement is always a big issue with titles like this so we'll see what NextAge has planned for the long term growth of Ghostbusters World.

The full release is set to take place later this year for iOS and Android devices.