The game allows users to catch Pokémon in real-world environments Niantic

Pokémon Go is still one of the biggest mobile games around, even if it has lost around 15 million players since the viral sensation of its launch. Now just over two months later, some players are crying out for more from the game than swiping Pokéstops, catching thousands of Drowzee, and squabbling over gyms that are only held for mere minutes.

Those fans will be pleased to hear that John Hanke, CEO of developer Niantic, has laid out his ambitions for the hit game going forward, and if all goes to plan, Pokémon Go is going to get a lot more engaging in coming months.


Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt, as spotted by VentureBeat, Hanke discussed plans for player-vs-player battles, live events, more Pokémon to catch, and - crucially - more stable servers.

Broadly, Hanke sees Pokémon Go developing similarly to Ingress, Niantic's earlier augmented reality game.

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"If you want to predict the future, look at the past. A lot of what we’re doing with Pokémon we learned through three years of work with Ingress – building up the game around the world, maturing the technology, the social aspect of it," Hanke said.

On Pokémon Go specifically, Hanke says "We're releasing [updates] every two weeks. We got the minimum viable product into the marketplace, and that’s the tip of the iceberg in terms of where we'll ultimately take the game."


Currently, the game only features the first generation Pokémon - and even then, there's no sign of the Legendary Birds Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, mythic Pokémon Mew, or its clone, Mewtwo. Non-legendary shapeshifting Pokémon Ditto is yet to make an appearance, too. However, more Pokémon are definitely coming to the game - but Hanke won't confirm when.

"There are over 700 Pokémon in the Pokémon universe. It's always been the intent to gradually introduce more Pokémon into the experience over time," Hanke says. "It's a natural way to keep the game fresh. Some Pokémon are highly coveted and people are going to be really excited when they show up in the game."

On battles, Hanke was even more vague, saying "Battling is something we talk a lot about. It'll probably make its way onto the road map, but I don’t have a specific date."

Those Legendary Pokémon may form the basis of live events though, something Hanke is more talkative on.

"Events will be part of our future. We're waiting for the launch craziness to subside and then we'll get to the hard work of planning," he says. "It's hard to put on an event for 10,000-plus people. But introducing new Pokémon into the world, having events where those might be showcased, those concepts go together well. You can expect to see that happening in a synchronized way."


Hanke also talked about Pokémon Go's beginnings as, essentially, an April Fool's joke. Niantic was originally part of Google, and a 2014 prank that populated Google Maps with Pokémon proved the starting ground for the mobile game.

"A guy on the Google Maps team was collaborating with the Pokémon Company to do this April Fool's mashup for Maps," Hanke said. "Once we saw that we realized we had to do this. We went to Tokyo and pitched the Pokémon Company. They were super excited. They'd been playing Ingress and they immediately got that this real-world gaming concept would fit perfectly with Pokémon. We started in, and it was in development for about two years before we launched."

Finally, Hanke gives hope to players frustrated by Ditto's absense. "I can’t tell you how to find Ditto, because then it wouldn’t be any fun when you found him," he says. "But it'll happen. I promise."