Poké mon Go' Adds Starbucks Stores as Gyms and Poké Stops

The company behind the smash hit "Poké mon Go" added Starbucks Corp. to its growing list of corporate partners as it looks for new ways to drive spending inside the mobile game.

More than 7,800 Starbucks locations in the U.S. over the next 12 weeks will be turned into Poké Stops or Gyms, where gamers can collect free in-game items or engage in battles. The coffee retailer also will sell a new "Poké mon Go" branded beverage.

"Poké mon Go" has been downloaded by more than 600 million people world-wide as of last month. When the game first launched in July, small businesses, public libraries and others spent money on in-game items that can lure Poké mon to specific locations to attract visitors. By teaming with large companies, Niantic hopes to reignite that buzz.

Starbucks is a natural fit for Niantic, which has pursued deals with companies that have large retail-store footprints. The tie-up, announced Thursday, comes a day after the game's creator, Niantic Inc., unveiled one with Sprint Corp. in the U.S. Earlier this year, Niantic struck its first corporate deal with the Japanese unit of McDonald's Corp.

Such collaborations will be limited in the future to avoid cluttering the game, Niantic Chief Executive John Hanke said after the Sprint deal was announced. "Don't expect to see a lot of these types of partnerships from us," he said.

Financial terms of the Starbucks and Sprint deals weren't disclosed.

Like most smartphone games today, "Poké mon Go" is free to play but encourages users to spend money on digital perks. The game has generated more than $800 million in revenue, according to industry tracker SuperData Research Inc.

Niantic, which developed the game with Nintendo Co. partner Poké mon Co., has been steadily adding features to the game to keep players engaged. It currently includes about 150 Poké mon creatures out of a universe of more than 700. New ones will be added Dec. 12.

Thomas Gryta contributed to this article.

Write to Sarah E. Needleman at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 08, 2016 14:55 ET (19:55 GMT)

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