Nintendo and Niantic to release Pikmin Bloom-AR game ‘soon’ worldwide

Niantic and Nintendo have announced Pikmin Bloom, a smartphone game where players can grow Pikmin and plant flowers while walking. The iOS and Android game is now available in Australia and Singapore and will be released worldwide “soon”.

Unlike other Niantic games like Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom doesn’t allow you to fight against other players. Instead, the game revolves around collecting Pikmin, small plant-like creatures. Pikmin grow from seeds that players can find while walking.

Players can also pick different fruits while walking. Nectar from these fruits can be used to feed Pikmin, who then grow flowers on their heads. Users can pick petals from these flowers to plant flowers while walking.

At the end of the day, users can see in the app how many steps they have taken, which routes they have walked and they can add notes and photos to their lifelog, a kind of diary function. Pikmin Bloom will also feature monthly Community Day events where players can walk and plant plants with others.

The game is available on Google Play and Apple’s App Store. The game is free to play, but you can purchase items from within the game. Niantic and Nintendo announced the game in March. Pikmin games are puzzle strategy games, the first game of which came out in 2001.