The Game/Tech Industry lacks opportunity and access for Black creators. We at Niantic want to set the stage to empower Black game/AR developers and provide access, resources and support so they can build amazing game experiences that inspire people to explore the world together. Niantic explorers are an incredibly diverse group and we believe that we need talented developers that reflect the diverse explorers to add their creativity and experience to build games that foster entertainment and connection.

We are using the definition provided by the US Census. If there are any questions around eligibility based on this, please contact us.

Niantic is always looking for the next innovative real world game that encourages players to explore the world, get exercise, and connect to one another. Games must have an AR or geolocation component.

The following is a breakdown of the processes involved in the program and should give applicants a clear understanding of what may come next. If you have any questions regarding this material please contact us.

Submission Review

• Acception or Rejection for Briefing

Request for Proposal (Pitches)

• Developer Briefing
• Developers sign NDA and are briefed on Niantic Lightship
• Developer Proposal/Pitch Generation
• 4-5 weeks to develop a pitch or high level concept if one does not already exist.
• During the pitch development period office hours will be provided by the Program Manager for any developer that chooses to opt in.
• Pitch Review
• Please see the “How are pitches evaluated?” FAQ for more information on the evaluation process.
• Technical and Production Vetting
• Teams are interviewed to ensure they are organized and set up appropriately for the project that has been pitched.
• Provide support to any areas that have been identified as potential risks.
• Accept / Reject Pitches
• Rejected pitches will receive detailed notes on why the project was not selected to better prepare them to try again, take their pitch elsewhere, or apply the knowledge gained to a new project.
• Accepted pitches move on toward a prototype development deal.

Prototype Development

• Developer Statement of Work / Inbound Services Agreement review and acceptance
• Mentorship Kick-off
• Teams are connected with Executive Leadership coaches.
• Niantic mentors will also provide additional support.
• Mentors are expected to meet with their developer mentees on a regular or semi-regular basis.
• Added to Community Communications Channels
• New entrants introduced to the network of program alumni.
• Developer Kick-off
• Implementation and Development Phase (15-18 Weeks)

Post Development

• Material support from program ends, however, community support continues
• Prototype submitted to Greenlight Committee
• Typically, Greenlight Committee evaluation will take up to three months, during which time teams are no longer receiving funds from Niantic.
• Accepted/Rejected
• Games that were passed on can take their pitch and prototype to find other sources of funding in order to rebuild their projects on alternative platforms.

Though many factors will be considered pitches will be examined using the following four categories as an initial rubric:

Overall Appeal - How well does Niantic think this experience will land with players? Does Niantic feel like this pitch is a good idea, as well as backed by a team that seems like they could get it done? Games evolve and change over the course of development, so does Niantic think this team has the right stuff to get to a great experience in the end?

Portfolio Fit - Do we see this being a Niantic game? Does it align to Niantic’s company values, and could stand next to Ingress, Pokémon GO, or Pikmin Bloom?

Achievability - Does it seem like your team will be able execute on the prototype you have planned? Does that prototype have a good chance of leading to a game that Niantic could develop and publish? Do the team members have the right skills to execute on your idea? Will you be able to run a game with live operations? Does your plan pass a sniff test?

X-Factor - Is there something about this concept or team that strikes Niantic as so cool, it should overwrite concerns in the above sections?

Other things that will help your pitch and/or team to stand out:

• Clear and strong definitions of core goals of the experience.

• Teams that have experience in developing on platforms that were in development at the same time as the game.

• Teams that have experience in Live Operations - digital or analogue.

• Teams that have demonstrated experience in developing original games from concept through launch.

• Clear, reasonable path to execution.

Material Support - Funding for proposed prototypes of selected teams.

Niantic Mentorship - Members of the Niantic team will be made available to mentor individual members of selected development teams according to their area of expertise.

Platform Technical Support - Advice and support of engineering teams to help selected developers work with the Niantic API. In addition, access to documentation and sample code will be provided.

Executive Leadership Coaches - Source and match executive leadership coaches for the leadership team of selected developers.

Promotional Support - Niantic will promote the selected developers and their game prototypes on their official owned & operated channels.

Project Feedback - Niantic will provide written feedback to the developers through every stage of the process. This will allow for developers to appropriately access any issues or weaknesses that their project may have so they may address them and go on to future success beyond this program.

Alumni Network - Though we are just getting started now we aim to to build a support network of current and in the future prior developers that have gone through the program.

Funding Advice - Recommendations on how developers can secure funding to ship a finished game if the prototype does not receive full funding from the Niantic Beyond Reality publishing structure.

Contact us.