Niantic plans to take the same concepts to the mass market later this year with the release of Pokémon Go, an addition to the Pokémon fantasy franchise that will be played via smartphone and also require interaction with the real world.

The focus on physical places in both games is deliberate. John Hanke, Niantic’s chief executive, joined Google in 2004, when his start-up, Keyhole, was acquired by the search giant and became the basis of Google Earth. After refining Google’s mapping products over the next seven years or so, Mr. Hanke and his team began pondering what else could be done with the map.

“Everyone is spending all this time inside, by their computers. No one goes to the local parks,” Mr. Hanke said in an interview at Niantic’s San Francisco headquarters. “We wanted to do something that was aspirational: Let’s get people outside.”

R. M. Harman, one of the Ingress players who defended the Point Bonita Lighthouse, said that the game had certainly improved his exercise habits, even as it had sucked up much of his free time.

Mr. Harman, a data architect who goes by the nickname Auros, frequently hops on his bicycle in the evening to take action on portals in his Silicon Valley neighborhood. And last September, he hiked high into the California back country with his spouse and a friend to recapture enemy-controlled portals in Kerrick Meadow near Yosemite National Park. The location was so remote that they had to use a satellite modem to connect to the internet and get access to the game.

“The game has a secret-agent vibe,” said Mr. Harman, who uses the code name OninekoKin. It appeals to programmers — at least one early Google employee who has retired from the company plays it full time. It also appeals to shy people, giving them an excuse to meet and connect with others.