Pokemon GO and Starbucks Partnership Is Official
By Rob Gordon 07 December 2016
Pokemon GO developer Niantic confirms that the mobile title’s partnership with Starbucks is now official, bringing with it thousands more Pokestops for players to use.
The partnership between Starbucks and hugely popular mobile game Pokemon GO has been something of a poorly kept secret. Just days ago, an internal memo from the coffee chain confirmed not only that Starbucks locations would act as useful stop-offs for the game’s users, but also hinted at the introduction of new Pokemon. Now, at least one part of the leak has been proved accurate, with the partnership itself now officially in place.
The partnership has been confirmed by both Starbucks and developer Niantic, revealing exactly what this Pokemon GO partnership will mean for the game’s players in the first instance. Starting today at 11 a.m PST, around 7,800 Starbucks stores across the United States will be available as either a Pokestop or a Gym. That will certainly make it easier for Pokemon GO players who already make a stop-off for a coffee before or after work.
Alongside this announcement, those who check out a Starbucks for a limited time will also be able to get a Pokemon GO-themed Frappuccino. Of course, drinking this Frappuccino is unlikely to result in an increased prowess in Pokemon GO play, but it’s nonetheless bound to get a fair few purchases based upon its connection to the Pokemon mobile game.
This was not the only part of that previously leaked memo that has proved to be correct, either. Niantic itself has also confirmed reports that new Pokemon are incoming for Pokemon GO, with more details expected on December 12. Whether these new Pokemon will be those that have yet to appear from the first generation, or from other generations of Pokemon, remains to be seen – but fans of the game do not have long to wait.
Pokemon GO has been tying up plenty of commercial deals of late. Just yesterday, Niantic also confirmed the game’s partnership with Sprint stores and Sprint dealer RadioShack. Meanwhile, Starbucks is not the only food and drink franchise to earn itself a deal with Pokemon GO, with a McDonalds/Pokemon GO partnership launching in Japan earlier this year.
Although ties between food and drink companies and video games may seem a little odd, this Starbucks deal is far from the most extreme example of a hybrid of the two industries. After all, Burger King, Skittles, and even Pepsi have all entered the world of gaming through some of the weirdest licensed games in video game history. At least this way, Pokemon GO players have plenty of additional PokeStops at their disposal in the US for the foreseeable future.
Pokemon GO is out now for mobile devices.
