Pokémon Go maker’s new virtual pet game Peridot launches in May

Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom, and the recently released NBA All-World, will release its next game, the all-new property Peridot, on May 9. That’s a little over a year after Niantic first announced Peridot, an augmented reality game that lets players raise and care for a virtual pet called a Dot.

Peridot is now available for pre-registration from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Niantic says that players who pre-register or play the game during the first two weeks after its launch will get a “launch-exclusive party hat cosmetic” for their Dots.

Niantic’s David Hollin, creative director for Peridot, said in the game’s release date announcement that every player’s pet will be “100% genetically unique,” inheriting genes from parent Dots that define their color, characteristics, and other cosmetic traits. Players (known as “Keepers”) will need to keep their Dots “happy, healthy, and loved,” Hollin says, by feeding them, playing with them, and taking them on adventures. Ultimately, Keepers will breed their Dots with Dots from other players. Unlike the collection and battle focus of Niantic’s Pokémon Go, the developer is pitching Peridot as a “charming, comfy game that delivers all the joy of raising a pet, without the mess.”

Based on the above release date trailer, Niantic also appears to be signaling the social — and even romantic — possibilities of Peridot. Whether it will come close to matching the success of Pokémon Go, a game Peridot seems to be indirectly competing against, will become clear this spring.