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Pokémon Go will be adding new monsters next week

The company also announced their first US partnerships

Justin Carissimo
New York
Wednesday 07 December 2016 01:28 GMT
(The Pokémon Company)

Pokémon Go will be adding new monsters next week, on December 12, coinciding with the launch of its first two US partnerships, the official Pokémon Company announced this week.

“More Pokémon are coming to #PokemonGO,” the company tweeted on Wednesday. “Stay tuned for details on 12/12, Trainers!”

Pokémon Go also announced their first two US partnerships. The mobile app will be adding 10,500 PokéStops and gyms across the states at participating Sprint locations.

“As part of this collaboration, Sprint, Boost Mobile and Sprint at Radioshack stores will become PokéStops and Gyms, giving you even more places to stock up on Poké Balls and Razz Berries and to battle your friends,” the company wrote in a blog post on Wednesday. “Sprint locations will also feature in-store charging stations to keep your Pokémon GO sessions going even longer.”

Prior to the statement, a handful of Starbucks employee leaks surfaced online referencing the Starbucks partnership to turn popular and essentially ruining the element of surprise from the announcement.

The news was verified by the Pokémon Company on Thursday morning, confirming the PokéStop sponsorship with more than 7,000 Starbucks locations. Earlier this year, Niantic, the company behind the mobile gaming application, began partnering with McDonald's restaurants in Japan.

Finally adding more Pokémon and incentives to playing the game, the moment will be a crucial turning point for the company after struggling to keep users playing the game.

Still, according to Forbes, the game is generating roughly $3 million each day and is still one of the most popular mobile applications.

It’s unclear if players outside the US will also be able to catch the new Pokémon, which originally debuted in the Gold and Silver games back in 2000.

Update: This story has been updated with official comment from the Pokémon Company.

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