Campfire is Niantic's new social app designed to work for all of their games, and will begin rolling out for Pokemon Go players soon

The previously rumoured Niantic-developed Campfire has finally been officially announced after whispers were thrown around earlier this year. However, what was originally presumed a new game from Niantic is, in fact, not a game at all. Instead, this is a brand new social app designed to gather players of all of the Niantic developed titles like Ingress, Pokemon GO, or even Pikmin Bloom.

Campfire will feature a wide variety of different mechanics that are designed to help you find players of whichever game you are currently playing nearby. A discover page will be inside of the app, and there you’ll be able to join new communities, coordinate events, and meet local players. Upon launch of Campfire, there will only be a few communities available, but more will be added over time, so you’re sure to find one that fits your needs.

There will also be a friends list feature to easily add and manage all of your friends, regardless of which Niantic game they are playing. Add that in with direct and group messaging where you can instantly share Gyms and Raids, drop live location pins, post photos, and chat with your friends, and you’ve got quite an impressive suite of social features. Keep in mind as well that this isn’t dependent on the game you are playing, so whether an Ingress player or Pokemon Go player, you’ll have access to the same stuff within Campfire as anyone else.

Finally, there’s also the real-world activities side of things. Within Campfire, you’ll be able to host, join, and share actual Community Events. Think of the Pokemon Go Community Days, but hosted by either you or a random player, encouraging all nearby Go players to get out there and meet each other.

All in all, Campfire sounds like a really smart idea for Niantic, and encourages players of their games to find friends around them, regardless of location. Currently, Campfire has no solid release date, but it is expected to begin rolling out for Pokemon Go players in the coming months, so stay tuned to the Niantic website for any news.