Pokémon Go is an iOS and Android augmented reality mobile game developed and released by Niantic in partnership with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company in 2016.

It makes use of GPS-enabled mobile devices to find, catch, train, and battle virtual creatures known as Pokémon that appear to be in your real-world location.

The game is free to play and enables in-app payments for additional in-game stuff. It runs on a freemium business model with local advertising.

You build and edit your own avatars after creating a gaming account. An avatar is built and shown on a map depending on your current location. 'PokéStops' and 'Pokémon Gyms' are two of the map's features.

These PokéStops may be equipped with items known as 'Lure Modules,' which attract more wild and uncommon Pokémon. For the team-based king of the hill contests, gyms function as battlegrounds. PokéStops and Gyms are usually found around places of interest.

Your avatars travel about the game's map as you move around in the real world. Different Pokémon species live in different parts of the world; for instance, Water-type Pokémon are commonly found near water.

You can see a Pokémon in AR mode or with a live rendered, generic background when you encounter one. If you escape, the Pokémon will return to the location where they were last engaged, with the exception of Nosepass, who will always face north due to its Pokédex entry. Your mobile device's camera and gyroscope are used in AR mode to display a picture of a Pokémon as if it were in the real world.

Unlike most other Pokémon games, you do not have to combat wild Pokémon to catch them in Pokémon Go. You may throw a Poké Ball at a wild Pokémon by sliding it from the bottom of the screen up toward it during an encounter. If you catch the Pokémon, it will become yours.

You will receive two sorts of in-game currency after catching a wild Pokémon: Candies and Stardust. The Candies granted by a successful catch are determined on the Pokémon's evolutionary chain. A player may boost a Pokémon's level and hence "Combat Power" by using Stardust and Candies. Except for specific Pokémon that require special items, simply Candies are required to evolve a Pokémon.

For different in-game activities, you receive experience points. As you gain experience points, you travel through the levels, unlocking new features. In level five, you can compete at a Pokémon Gym and join one of three color-coded factions: red for Team Valor, blue for Team Mystic, or yellow for Team Instinct, all of which fight for control of Gyms in the Pokémon Go universe.

The game is continuously updated with new Pokémon, and there are now over 730 Pokémon in the game as of March 25, 2022. Team GO Rocket battles were added in Pokémon Go. NPCs from Team GO Rocket could be fought at PokéStops that twitched and were a dark color.

In 2017, Raid Battles were also introduced. Raid Battles include a group of players coming together to face an over-leveled Pokémon in a Gym. You have a chance to capture a regular version of the Pokémon if you defeat it.