Pikachu float
IN PHOTO: The Pokemon "Pikachu" float makes its way down 6th avenue during the 89th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the Manhattan. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

The mobile-augmented reality game "Pokémon Go" was announced just over nine months ago. The game developed by Niantic will allow players to capture, battle, train and trade virtual Pokémon that appears throughout the real world. While fans have been patiently waiting for a release date announcement, it looks like it may be approaching sooner than later.

Since the games announcement, Niantic has selected a few players in different regions to participate in a field test or beta. Not everyone was lucky enough to get in on the testing, but those who were chosen have reported that the game lives up to the hype.

More recently, testers have revealed that the beta has ended in some regions. According to GameRant, a screenshot from a user read: "Thank you for field testing Pokémon GO! We will be back soon!" The picture indicated that the trial period and error testing has ended for "Pokémon Go" and will soon end globally, which means the developers are closer to releasing the app. Check out the image here.

In early March, Niantic announced the Japan exclusive beta would begin. Then in April, the beta was announced for Australia and New Zealand. Then, on May 16, the beta expanded to the U.S. with Niantic Labs stating, "And today, we’re expanding that field test to the United States to get more feedback to improve the game."

Meanwhile, at Nintendo's E3 Treehouse Live event, Shigeru Miyamoto talked of "Pokémon Go" and announced the Plus devices price and possible release date. Miyamoto announced that Nintendo hopes to have the Bluetooth accessory ready by July and that the Bluetooth device will be priced at $35.

Then later in the live stream, it was acknowledged that the mobile game would need to be ready before the actual Bluetooth device, which puts the official release date sometime in July.

"Pokémon Go" will be available for both iOS and Android. The game is free-to-play, although it will support in-app purchases.

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