Final Update:

Yes. It is now officially available.

According to the Pokemon Go official Facebook Page, 15 countries in the SEA are now able to play the game as of today. It read:

"Trainers in 15 new countries and regions across Asia and Oceania can now officially download Pokémon GO from the Play Store or App Store. Discover Pokémon in the world around you!

Countries and regions include: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau"

Update 2: Saturday August 6

We were alerted that the game is available in the Indonesian App store which may very well signal its official release in these regions. Indonesian trainers have been able to play Pokemon Go since its release, but via the APK-installation method.

Are you in the Philippines or Singapore? Are you able to play Pokemon Go? Do let us know in the comments section below.

Update: Saturday August 6

Seems that Pokemon Go is playable for Malaysian trainers as of 9am today. Alerted by one of our editors, we tried updating our APK-installed app and it worked - the app is available in the Google App store. Given how no official announcement of the release in Malaysia (or any of the SEA countries) was foretold, this could probably be one of the temporary stress test organised by Niantic to test the stability of the game ahead of its official release.

Nonetheless, get your trainer cap on, download the game and get put all weekend plans aside as them Pokemons won't catch themselves you know.

Update: Thursday 28 July

Two days after Pokemon Go's official release in Hong Kong, we are happy to report that interest on the game is going on strong, encountering minimal hitch for gamers here.

In town for ACGHK 2016, we took a quick opportunity to test out Pokemon Go which we installed into our device via the APK method while back in Malaysia a couple weeks back and are happy to report that it works like a charm. Save for some odd GPS issues, the game flows smoothly and we have so far encountered some interesting Pokemons less than 24 hours being in Hong Kong.

No official statement from Niantic as yet on when the game will be officially available in SEA countries but based on the decreasing reports of server issues from their end, we assume the wait may finally be over.

Hang tight trainers!

Representatives from Niantic, the developers of Pokemon Go has responded to our e-mail inquiring about the game’s release in new territories.

Sent via fortyseven.com, the agency which represents Niantic, we were told that no announced plans are afoot outside the countries with official releases.

The email read:

"The team is currently heads down working on the game. We do not have any announced plans for countries beyond New Zealand, Australia, US and Germany at the moment."

Chris Kramer, Vice President

fortyseven communications

This comes amidst rumors of the game set to be officially available to players in the SEA region starting tomorrow, citing the theories related to the 'refreshed App market on Thursdays'.

As bummed as we are with this official announcement, we hope this puts an end to all the rumors going about, giving eager trainers false hope thinking that they will get to play the game by this weekend. At last check, the game has been made officially available in the UK.

On our end, we are constantly keeping an eye on the app markets for any progress as this statement may just be a red herring. We will keep you abreast with related ongoings as we receive them.

Meanwhile, check out our review of Pokemon Go where Kallie Plagge described as "lacks in polish and depth but makes up for with a fascinating social experience".

We will keep pursuing for more news related to the game's official release in the region and til then, keep it locked on to IGN.

Kenn's favorite Pokemon is Kadabra. Please don't judge. You can follow his rants on Twitter at @kennleandre