NEW YORK – Today, Niantic announced a partnership with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) to create an original augmented reality mobile game: NBA All-World.  NBA All-World is a first-of-its-kind game that will place NBA fans into the real-world metaverse.

NBA All-World is a free-to-play officially licensed geolocation basketball game where players can find, challenge, and compete against today’s NBA ballers in their neighborhoods, then recruit them to their team before proving themselves on the court.

“NBA All-World represents an industry first in sports games, as an original, real-world AR game that will appeal to casual and core NBA fans alike,” said Marcus Matthews, Senior Producer at Niantic.  “We’re creating and designing a game that empowers players to represent where they’re from and showcase the culture of their neighborhood.”

“Through our partnership with Niantic, NBA All-World will provide fans across the globe the opportunity to fully immerse themselves into the energy and excitement of the NBA,” said Matt Holt, Head of Consumer Products at the NBA.  “Evident in the name of the game itself, we look forward to engaging with our fans around the world through this captivating experience.”

“NBA-All World gives us the opportunity to bring NBA players into Niantic’s real-world metaverse, opening up paths for fans to interact with them in a new way,” said Josh Goodstadt, EVP of Licensing for THINK450, the innovation engine of the NBPA. “Niantic has proven experience building games that encourage engagement in local communities, and having our players integrated into NBA All-World adds to that immersion.”

Additionally, NBA All-World will embrace the fashion of the NBA, with users having the ability to outfit players in the game with custom apparel.

Players can sign-up to be notified when NBA All-World is available in their country by visiting NBAAllWorld.com.  Those who sign up will be able to experience an exclusive All-World AR web experience and be the first to be notified about securing their codename for global launch.