Niantic developed Pokémon GO with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.
The augmented-reality mobile game launched in 2016 and uses GPS, mapping, and smartphone cameras to place Pokémon in real-world locations. Players explore their surroundings to find, catch, and train Pokémon, making location-based movement part of the core game loop.
Niantic began as an internal Google startup and became an independent company before Pokémon GO was released. Its earlier location-based game, Ingress, provided technical and mapping foundations for the Pokémon project.
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company were major partners and investors, while Google veterans helped establish Niantic. Game Freak, the developer of the main handheld and console role-playing games, did not develop Pokémon GO. That distinction is a common source of confusion when discussing Pokémon game creators.