Microsoft and Niantic have teamed up to demonstrate how Pokémon GO works on Microsoft's augmented reality HoloLens. The demo was shown by John Hanke, CEO and founder of Niantic, as part of the Microsoft Mesh presentation at Ignite 2021.

Hanke showed how HoloLens2 users can do basically everything they can do in Pokémon GO with wearable AR, including finding, capturing, feeding berries to, and even battling Pokémon in the wild. And unlike the current mobile version of Pokémon GO, the demo even shows that Pokémon recognize you and your environment.

At this point, Hanke says, the demo is just a proof-of-concept version of the game, shown off to "give a glimpse of the possibilities of new AR experiences," as Microsoft Mesh announced at Ignite 2021.

Hanke also demonstrated a sort of menu that HoloLens users can tap to access Pokémon boxes, potions, and more. Niantic has already confirmed that this menu is not yet a usable dedicated app.

"While this demo is not intended for consumer use, it does provide an early glimpse into future advancements in both software and hardware," Hanke said.

Neither Niantic nor Microsoft has yet confirmed when the technology will be widely available.

"We've only scratched the surface. The next few years should be filled with significant accomplishments that will serve as relay points on the journey of AR becoming a life-changing computing platform. We are excited to lead the way," Hanke added.

To add for those who have been living under a rock, Pokémon GO is an augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic in 2016 in collaboration with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. The game was released as part of the video game and television show series Pokémon, in which characters collect and raise creatures called "Pokémon" to fight each other. Pokémon GO has proven to be one of the most popular mobile games on both Android and iOS.