{"id":18723,"date":"2021-11-08T11:05:18","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T19:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jnack.com\/blog\/?p=18723"},"modified":"2021-11-08T11:10:09","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T19:10:09","slug":"niantic-introduces-the-lightship-ar-dev-platform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jnack.com\/blog\/2021\/11\/08\/niantic-introduces-the-lightship-ar-dev-platform\/","title":{"rendered":"Niantic introduces the Lightship AR dev platform"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hmm\u2014I want to get excited here, but as I’ve previously detailed<\/a>, I’m finding it tough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pokemon Go remains the one-hit wonder of the location-based content\/gaming space. That being true 5+ years after its launch, during which time Niantic has launched & killed Harry Potter Wizard Unite; Microsoft has done the same with Minecraft Earth; and Google has (AFAIK) followed suit with their location-based gaming API, I’m not sure that we’ll turn a corner until real AR glasses arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still & all, here it is<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Niantic Lightship Augmented Reality Developer Kit, or ARDK, is now available for all AR developers around the world at\u00a0Lightship.dev<\/a>. To celebrate the launch, we\u2019re sharing a glimpse of the earliest AR applications and demo experiences from global brand partners and developer studios from across the world.<\/p>

We\u2019re also announcing the formation of Niantic Ventures to invest in and partner with companies building the future of AR. With an initial $20 million fund, Niantic Ventures will invest in companies building applications that share our vision for the Real-World Metaverse<\/strong> and contribute to the global ecosystem we are building. To learn more about Niantic Ventures, go to\u00a0Lightship.dev<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It’s cool that “The Multiplayer API is free for apps with fewer than 50,000 monthly active users,” and even above that number, it’s free to everyone for the first six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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