Google is inviting iPhone and iPad owners into its augmented reality game Ingress after it finally launched an iOS app.

The Android version opened to all last December, and now it has quietly made its way into the App Store without an official announcement from Google — save this Google+ post from gamer Fevenis Silverwind of Niantic Labs, the Google-run company that operates the unique game .

For those who are unaware of it, Ingress is a mobile-based alternate reality game in which players are part of either the resistance or enlightened teams battling to collect and control the powerful ‘Exotic Matter,’ which is virtually located in real-life locations worldwide. Mobile apps are used to play, but there is also a web-based service that helps keep up with the status of games and locations.

Ingress has been kept to tech geeks and early adopters to date but now that an iOS version is out, it will be interesting to see if Google broadens the focus and makes things more public. We’ve contacted the company to pose those very questions — we’ll let you know what Google has to say in response.

➤ Ingress for iOS | Via John Mueller [Google+]

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