Google's smartphone app team Niantic Labs has released a new multi-player gaming platform that turns your real-world location into a virtual world.

Called Ingress — which is available for free download on Android via Google Play — the app is based around the premise that a strange energy has been discovered by European scientists, and it must be controlled before it controls you.

But the app isn't one you play while sitting on your couch at night. It requires actual movement and encourages you to get outside to unlock new features, weapons and adventures. For example, to control and capture things called "portals" — which spew matter from creative places such as museums and libraries — you have to go there. Once you connect three portals, you form a region and claim a territory.

This means if you are in Times Square, the app's built-in scatter map technology knows where you are and adds a virtual layer to it. It leads you to real statues and landmarks to continue the game. The platform also works in rural communities too.

The news comes as the Niantic Lab teased videos leading up to the launch, which included taglines such as "there's more for the world to see."

Heading the Niantic Lab team is John Hanke, the location-based guru behind Google Earth, Google Maps and StreetView. Hanke was previously the CEO of mapping tech company Keyhole which was acquired by Google in 2004.

“We live in a world of abundant information and ubiquitous computing — why not play in it? For the first time, the world, not the screen, can become the basis for a mobile game — it’s a controller in the palm of your hand," Hanke told Mashable.

Could the blending of real and virtual worlds be the future of gaming? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.