Hideo Kojima partners with Niantic Spatial to turn the world into his canvas
Kojima Productions is developing what looks to be an augmented reality (AR) title in collaboration with Niantic Spatial.
Niantic Spatial CEO John Hanke joined Hideo Kojima on stage during Kojima Productions' 10th anniversary celebration to confirm the two companies have partnered on a project that will "push the boundaries of what's possible in interactive storytelling."
"At Niantic Spatial, we're building a living model of the world that people and machines can talk to, creating a new canvas for real-world storytelling and interaction," said Hanke. "We are delighted to be working with Kojima Productions to explore what our combined creativity and innovation can accomplish for new and existing fans."
The announcement was accompanied by a trailer dubbed 'Kojima Productions and Niantic Spatial: A New Dawn' that shows a person wearing what look to be smart glasses wandering the real world in search of digital artifacts and other curious holograms.
Hideo Kojima invites players to 'move beyond the screen'Niantic Spatial currently operates multiple AR titles including Ingress Prime and Peridot.
Company boss Hanke previously oversaw the development of other major AR releases like Pokemon GO, Pikmin Bloom, and Monster Hunter Now before selling Niantic's video game division to Saudi-owned publisher Scopely for $3.5 billion.
That deal saw Niantic Labs (which houses Niantic's game development teams and titles like Pokémon GO and Pikmin Bloom) move under the Scopely umbrella.
Hanke then established a new offshoot called Niantic Spatial to "lead the future of geospatial AI by building spatial intelligence that helps people better understand, navigate, and engage with the physical world."
The business pivot resulted in a number of employees being laid off by Niantic Spatial, despite the company starting out with $250 million of capital—including $200 million from Niantic's balance sheet and a $50 million investment from Scopely.
