Board games enthusiasts will probably be familiar with the name Settlers of Catan. It looks like the company behind it is working to make an AR location-based game. It’s called Catan: World Explorers.
TechCrunch reports that the company, also called Catan, said it was working on a “massively multiplayer location based game” that “transforms the entire Earth into one giant game of Catan”. Overall, it sounds like the kind of game Niantic will be involved in, considering its other titles like Ingress, Pokemon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.
The game already has a website, and its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy sections clearly indicate Niantic’s involvement. The company has also confirmed with TechCrunch that it is indeed working on the game. But that’s as much as the publication got in terms of details.
Going back to the Catan: World Explorers website, you’ll see a number of what looks like in-game UI. If you’ve played any of Niantic’s other games, then this will look quite familiar. A lot of the board game’s mechanics will be brought here too, from building roads to expanding settlements. Even victory points have been brought in. Chances are the resource mechanic will make use of landmarks, the way Pokestops and Gyms from Pokemon Go uses them.
As for when Catan: World Explorers will be out, there’s still no release date to look forward to as of now. The website allows you to sign up to get updates as they come, but TechCrunch reports that more details will trickle out starting early 2020.
(Source: Catan via TechCrunch)
