UPDATE: APRIL FOOL'S!!!

Move over, Super Mario Run, there's a new mobile juggernaut in town. Just months away from what many are considering to be the biggest JRPG western localization to feature monsters made of data of all time in Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth, Bandai Namco are once again changing the landscape of modern video gaming. The publisher announced today that it would be teaming with Niantic, a relatively obscure developer that is perhaps best known for Ingress, in a new project that will simply be titled Digimon GO.

Bandai Namco will seek to revolutionize the way people use mobile devices for entertainment, fusing their popular Digimon series with an alternate reality game that will see players explore the real world to capture digital monsters. For the many comparing this title with Pokemon GO, perhaps the biggest difference between the games is the fact that Digimon GO features Digimon characters, while Pokemon GO features Pokemon.

Bandai Namco and Niantic have yet to reveal the exact details of the project, but it is safe to assume it is essentially exactly like a reskin of Pokemon GO, which in turn was basically just a reskin of Ingress. When asked for comment, a powerful Niantic exec was quoted as saying:

"There's a lot of money in this cash cow. I'm hoping to retire in 5 years after we release Naruto GO. Oh yeah - that's gonna be a thing."

Digimon GO will see players take on the role of a Digimon Tamer - which is completely different from a Pokemon Trainer, by the way - with the intent to hunt down and capture Digimon, who have escaped into the real world via some sort of extradimensional plot device. Players will be assigned to one of three teams, called Team Virus, Team Vaccine, and Team Data. The Digimon will spawn in different locations and players will be able hold down specific areas - called Digimon Fitness Centers - by placing their strongest Digimon there to defend it for their team.

While the exact release date has yet to be announced, it is nevertheless an exciting time for mobile gamers everywhere. Those looking for Digimon GO's edge over Pokemon GO need look no further than the game's development plans - Niantic has stated that Digimon GO will feature player-to-player trading by as early as 2025, well ahead of the current schedule for Pokemon GO.

Digimon GO will be available for iOS, Android, and Tamagotchi mobile devices. A release date has yet to be announced.

Source: YouTube