Agents, we have greatly appreciated the outpour of enthusiasm for this new chapter of the Ingress story.
Ingress launched in 2012, and now, more than 20 million downloads later, Agents in more than 200+ countries have participated in more than 2,000 real-world events and visited more than 1.2 billion Portals. The pioneering technology found within Ingress has not only created an engaging foundational game that blended Augmented Reality and location-based gaming in a compelling way, but has also paved the way for other explosive hits such as Pokémon GO.
After listening to feedback and pushing back our launch as a result, we were able and will continue to address gameplay design and quality concerns from our playtest communities. We also implemented critical learnings gained from Pokémon GO and Ingress to publish an experience we are proud of. We’ve spent six years working to build upon the Ingress world, and we are excited to share how Ingress Prime has innovated upon the original’s massively multiplayer gameplay, narrative integration, and real-world experiences for both new and veteran Agents.
Alongside quality-of-life upgrades such as new quick-swipe menus, inventory management, one-finger map gestures, Facebook account-linking and improved anti-cheat and security features, new Agents will undergo a comprehensive onboarding system. The new interactive training program will be an introduction to the global game board, how to uncover Portals (disguised as landmarks of cultural significance in the real-world), basic gameplay mechanics, and the storyline. After completion, Agents will understand how to control Portals and acquire the powerful resource, Exotic Matter (XM). With these new skills, Agents will then face a choice to align with The Enlightened or The Resistance, two distinct factions with individual philosophies, and will capture and defend portals to control the area around them. Meanwhile, veteran Agents can now ‘Recurse,’ resetting Agent level and faction choice while retaining all badges and gaining a new badge to denote their status.
Agents will continue to play a pivotal role alongside two new faction-specific artificial intelligence programs in shaping the Ingress storyline. Agents can educate their AIs, and grow them into powerful forces that will impact the narrative storyline. The outcome of these key moments will be decided with fellow Agents during real-world events, called Anomalies. Anomalies take place in multiple locations around the world and aim to foster both collaboration and competition between the two factions.
All of these significant accomplishments and activities will be highlighted through a new interactive hub called ‘Ingress Investigate,’ and an in-fiction video series called the ‘Dunraven Project’. Expect more stories on Ingress to be revealed as the Ingress Anime series, produced in collaboration with Fuji TV, Craftar Studios, and Netflix will be released globally in 2019.
Welcome to the world of Ingress. Download Ingress Prime on the App Store for iPhone and on Google Play for Android devices.
—The Niantic team