Sensible Object's debut offering, Beasts of Balance, saw players immersed in a fantasy world where their physical, stackable creations translated to digital points-scoring. The company's follow-up series, Voice Originals, cast Alexa in the role of games master, guiding players through adventures such as When In Rome, another hybrid board game.

So what does Niantic want with Sensible Object? Its highly-anticipated AR Harry Potter mobile game is expected this year and is already being tested, so the company's interest in Sensible Object is based on something else. Sensible Object's NFC-driven Beasts of Balance animals are pretty cute -- could similar physical Pokémon be on the way? Watch this space.