Which company was the original developer of Pokémon Go?

Niantic was the original developer of Pokémon Go.

Niantic developed and published the 2016 augmented-reality mobile game in partnership with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. The game used GPS, smartphone cameras, and map-based locations to let players find and capture Pokémon in the real world.

Game Freak developed the core Pokémon role-playing games, which is why it is a tempting but incorrect answer here. The Pokémon Company manages the franchise and its licensing, while Nintendo is a major partner and owner. Those companies' involvement does not make them the game's original developer.

Pokémon Go grew from Niantic's earlier location-based work, especially Ingress, another game built around real-world movement and mapped points of interest. Pokémon Go adapted that framework to Pokémon's collecting and battling systems. Its launch in July 2016 became one of the franchise's most visible modern milestones, connecting a decades-old brand with smartphone gaming.