Google’s latest AR game lets you shoot virtual aliens in real world using your phone

Dubbed 'Space Invaders: World Defense', the title makes use of ARCore and Geospatial API to automatically adapt to the player's surroundings.

Space Invaders World Defense involves shooting aliens in real world using AR. (Image Source: Taito)

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Google today announced a new Augmented Reality game called ‘Space Invaders: World Defense’ where players have to shoot virtual aliens in the real world using their phone. In a blog post, the tech giant said it worked with the Japanese game studio TAITO to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the original Space Invaders.

Similar to Pokemon Go, Space Invaders: World Defense requires players to go out in the real world to fight aliens spawning from buildings and rooftops. Google says the game offers ‘global immersive gameplay’ with players from every corner of the planet working together to fight against aliens.

You can score points by taking down aliens and exploring your surrounding areas to find more aliens. Players can also compete with their friends for the leaderboard when they are nearby, share achievements on social media using AR selfie and unlock special power-ups.

The game makes use of ARCore and Geospatial API to make use of ‘immediate surroundings as well as nearby buildings, landscapes and other architectural elements to design engaging levels in the real world with AR and on the screen only with 3D.’ Google says the gameplay automatically adjusts to the player’s real-world parameters like location, local weather and time. First announced at this year’s Google I/O, the game is available on both iOS and Android devices.