What Google project inspired the concept for Pokémon Go?

Google Maps: Pokémon Challenge inspired the concept for Pokémon Go.

The project began as an April Fools' Day collaboration in 2014 involving Google, Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Game Freak. It invited users to search Google Maps for Pokémon hidden around the world.

Tsunekazu Ishihara of The Pokémon Company saw potential in the idea and connected it with Niantic's location-based technology. Niantic had already created Ingress, a game that used real-world maps and landmarks as part of its gameplay.

The concept was refined into Pokémon Go, which launched for iOS and Android in July 2016. The original Google project was a promotional joke rather than a full Pokémon game, so it is often incorrectly remembered as the first release of Pokémon Go itself. Its map-based exploration became the foundation of the later mobile hit.