One of the things that has made Pokemon GO remain popular in the years since its launch is the game's dedication to constant improvement and updates. The mobile AR experience was far from perfect when it launched, but the devs have listened to player feedback and made many updates both to fix existing systems and add brand new features that were missing at launch. The latest of these major updates has been a total overhaul of the Pokemon GO Buddy System.
In the past, Buddies basically were just good for earning a little extra Candy very slowly. The new system makes Pokemon GO buddies much more interactive though and attempts to allow players to develop loyalty and real relationships with their chosen buddy. That's just the start of things though, because the Shared AR Experience is following shortly behind the other updates.
Pokemon GO's Shared AR Experience is currently in beta and aims to offer players another way to interact with their Buddy. This option will allow gamers to hang out with both their buddy and a friend's buddy, as well. The feature is currently rolling out and is apparently available in Canada, Sweden, Italy, Netherlands, Mexico, Germany, Taiwan, United Kingdom, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia.
A beta user on Reddit who has been testing out the new feature offered the following explanation of what they experienced while getting set up...
"Beside the Play button on your buddy screen. There’s a new button! Once you download a small update you can choose to scan or create a QR code.
Once your friend scans the code you can hit GO to start. It’s a little bit of a process to get started – stand in a line, move phones left and right together. Then you each throw your buddy! You can feed your buddy (not theirs) berries. You can see their buddy eat berries if they’re fed. I’ll have a pic up soon!
We’re on iOS and Android – she’s on the newest update, I’m not. You know it’s a good feature when you keep instinctively looking up to see them in real life 😂"
For now, players may want to keep hunting down the best Unova Pokemon in the game if improving their Battle Raid rosters is their primary goal. Be sure to check back in the near future for more Pokemon GO strategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GOÂ is available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices.
Source: Pokemon GO Twitter