Pokemon GO release date news 2016: App to roll out late 2016 on 20th anniversary of Pokémon franchise

Rumor has it that the long-awaited mobile app "Pokémon GO" is going to be released late this year alongside the celebration of the Pokémon franchise's 20th anniversary.

The exact date hasn't been revealed yet, but Tsunekazu Ishihara, President and CEO of The Pokémon Company, said in an interview that the app will first be released in Japan, Europe and North America before its launch in South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Ishihara mentioned that they are also developing another project aside from the "Pokémon GO." This interview for the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper was translated by Serebii.

Last year, in a press release by The Pokémon Company, Ishihara said he has been working with different companies for this new app to be developed: Niantic. Inc., founded by John Hanke; GAME FREAK Inc. with Game Director Junichi Masuda; and Nintendo Co., Ltd. with Senior Managing Director Shigeru Miyamoto.

According to the transcript of the announcement released by Pokémon, Ishihara said, "To tell you the truth, I have been working on this project for about two years along with Nintendo's Mr. Iwata, and I really hoped we could make the announcement together. That desire is part of why I decided to hold this conference today."

During the press conference, Ishihara also revealed the promo video for "Pokémon GO."

From the video, players who are familiar with the game app "Ingress" may see it as something similar. "Ingress" is a reality app where players use GPS and it currently has 12 million downloads. Ishihara was inspired by this game while he was developing "Pokémon GO." This is one of the reasons why he partnered with its makers, Niantic Inc.

The Pokémon Company and Niantic Inc. haven't released any official statement yet. There are still no reports of beta testing ongoing for the app.

"Pokémon GO" will be available for iOS and Android users for free.