Peridot

Niantic launched Peridot in May 2023: the first ever fully-AR location-based game that gives players the chance to adopt and interact with magical pets called ‘Dots’. The game is unique in allowing players to diversify their pets’ species through interactions with other users – and hatch creatures that are 100% genetically unique each time.

Niantic’s Perigenetics System means each Dot is procedurally generated with 100% unique DNA, resulting in countless variations of creature looks. The number of variations surpasses the number of stars in the universe or grains of sand on all the Earth’s beaches (2.3 x 1024 in case you were wondering!).

Peridot is powered by Niantic’s Lightship AR platform to deliver a game that is experienced fully in augmented reality. Thanks to years of computer vision and AI research, breakthroughs like real-time mapping, obstacle occlusion, and semantic segmentation mean Peridots can interact with real-world surroundings in remarkably realistic ways and get smarter over time. It means players can feed, pet, and play with them (almost like real pets!), and participate in explorations and community events with other users.

In November 2023, the Peridot development team shared a new update that added generative AI capabilities to the game, making the title the world’s first AR game to use gen AI at scale. This update means gen AI can use info about the Dot – its personality, the context of where it is in the world, and what it sees – to determine how it will react to the situation, making each reaction unique in and of itself.

In addition, gen AI makes it possible for Dots to react organically to their environments, adding another lifelike element to the gaming experience. For instance, if a Dot sees a human, it may nuzzle against their leg or lie on their lap for a snooze; if they see a dog, they may play bow and wag their tail.