Apple Watch is finally getting "Pokémon Go" after a fake online claim that the game's developer Niantic would stop building the smartwatch game. The record-breaking augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) game is now available for Apple's wrist wearable. This means gamers can just tap the smart watch's app instead of reaching for their iPhone in a pants pocket, while slogging to finish the tough job of catching them all.
"Pokémon Go" has been downloaded over 600 million times. Niantic reported that players have logged over 8.7 billion kilometers (5.4 billion miles), which is like traveling around the world about 200,000 times.
The AR/VR game's official website reported the game would work with Apple Watch on December 22, Thursday. This was over three months after Niantic first announced the Apple Watch version.
Playing the mobile game also counts as a Watch "workout." The Workout app was designed to function like sports watches.
In fact, the fitness tracker-like functions of the game for the Apple wearable are highlighted by the new Pokemon game. It will be easy for players to keep track of day-to-day activity as they log pocket monster-hunting sessions.
The Apple Watch can also help to hatch Pokémon eggs.
Apple's smartwatch provides other new functions. It sends push notifications when Pokémon are close, eggs hatch, gamers are near a PokéStop, and medals are awarded, according to Digital Trends.
Learning that a little creature is nearby could make the game much safer. Many news stories have included headlines about gamers who walked into traffic because they were looking down at their handset screens.
Niantic has also rolled out several updates to the "Pokémon Go" app for iPhone. It hopes that the smartphone game's fans will keep playing after it became a smash hit during the past summer.
The Google spin-off is teaming up with companies such as Sprint, Starbucks, and McDonald's Japan. These big companies function as PokéStop and Gym destinations of the AR game.
In related news, Niantic's holiday event for "Pokémon Go" will start on Christmas Day (December 25, Sunday) and end on January 3, according to CNBC. It will make it easier to find eggs that hatch pocket monsters such as the small Pichu and Togepi from the Johto region, and to meet Santa hat Pikachu.
In addition, after gamers spin a PokéStop's photo disc they can get a daily single-use incubator.
The Pokémon franchise is two decades old. In 1996 "Pocket Monsters: Red & Green" were released in Japan for Nintendo's Game Boy.
Here's a video about the "Pokemon Go" Christmas event: