'Pokémon Go' release date latest news: Niantic CEO to field test app in March; developers warn of hoax beta tests

The much awaited "Pokémon GO" has already been lined up for a public release in 2016. However, there is still no particular release date on the timetable of both developer Niantic and publisher The Pokémon Company.

The massive-multiplayer iOS and Android game is said to use the location of a gamer's phone to place them in an urban or rural reality map, which lets them engage in monster-ensnaring RPG, just like in the "Pokémon" series. With the use of augmented reality, a player can actually see a Pokémon via their phone's camera. 

Nintendo News reports that due to this unfamiliar and exciting concept, Niantic CEO John Hanke will lay bare how the intricacies of this supplementary tool for "Pokémon Go" will work. The presentation, called "Catch 'Em All: Pokémon GO and Real World Gaming," still has an unspecified time and date but is expected to be held some time between March 14 to 18 at the upcoming Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, California. 

Despite the lock-down details, the official GDC website, as quoted by Nintendo News, stated that:

"Attendees will get a first-hand, in-depth look at how players are interacting and exploring the world with one another through Pokémon GO, the collaborative approach to design and development for the game and the next evolution of augmented reality and real-world mobile gameplay experiences."

"Pokémon GO" can be played at no cost except for some in-app purchases on the required operating system.

Reports have also been spreading like wild-fire in the gaming community that certain websites are conducting closed beta tests for the spin-off. According to N4BB, these are all hoaxes since the official developers of the game have not committed to a trial version. Moreover, it has been noted that the people who run these websites are shrewdly drawing off personal information from trusting "Pokémon GO" fans.