What is a location-based game?

A game whose board is the real world — your physical position is the input. That covers catching games like Pokémon GO, territory games like Ingress and Turf, and property games where you claim real addresses.

Which location-based games are still active in 2026?

Pokémon GO remains by far the largest. Checked against the App Store on 16 August 2026, Ingress, Turf, Pikmin Bloom, Orna, Monster Hunter Now and Geocaching had all shipped a build within the previous six months, alongside smaller entries like BloodRivals. Worth checking yourself before investing time in any of them, because a store listing outlives the work on it — sometimes by years. Our page on games that shut down lists the ones still installable that have not shipped in a long time.

Do location-based games need AR?

No. AR is a presentation choice, not the genre. Most are perfectly playable with the camera off, and several — including BloodRivals — have no AR mode at all.

Do you need mobile data to play?

Generally yes, since the map and other players' positions come from a server. Data use is usually modest compared with battery use, which is the real cost.

Which location-based game should a beginner start with?

Pokémon GO if you want a guaranteed-busy map wherever you are. Geocaching if you want exploring without competition. A territory game if you want what you hold to be at risk — and check its population near you first, because that decides the experience more than the features do.

The category

Location-based games in 2026 — what's actually still alive

Games you play by walking around the real world are a small genre with a big problem: a lot of them are ghost towns. A map with nobody on it is just a map. Here's what each of the main ones is for, and how full it is.

Pokémon GO — the default

Still the largest by a wide margin, and the one with people actually outside playing it in most cities. Collection-driven: you catch things, you walk to hatch things. If you want the busiest board and a family-safe experience, this is the answer and nothing here beats it on population. What to play instead of Pokémon GO →

Ingress — the territorial one

The original. Two global factions capture portals and link them into control fields. Deeply strategic, coordinated over group chats, and genuinely competitive. It is also old, dense with jargon, and hard to walk into cold — the learning curve is the point for its players and the barrier for everyone else. Ingress alternatives, compared →

Orna — the RPG one

A pixel-art RPG layered on GPS: real quests, real character depth, built by a small team, and whose developers state a no-pay-to-win policy. If you want progression systems rather than territory, this is the pick. Orna alternatives, compared →

Geocaching — the oldest idea

Not really a game so much as a worldwide treasure hunt: people hide containers, you find them. No combat, no economy, no rivals. Enormously durable precisely because it asks nothing of a server. Geocaching alternatives, compared →

Territory games — and the ghost-town problem

Claim streets, hold them against other players. The idea is compelling and it has one specific failure mode: these games live or die on density. With nobody claiming near you there is no game, just a to-do list on a map — which is why several older entries are still installable and effectively empty. How territory games work in depth →

The rest of the genre

Three branches this page does not otherwise cover, each with its own comparison. Turf is the Nordic zone-capture game and the closest thing to us mechanically. GPS running games — RunStrict, KYRO and others — turn the route itself into territory, which is a different product from walking to one address. Crime-empire games share our theme and almost nothing else, since they are played on a screen rather than a street.

The other half of this genre is money rather than movement: property games — board, idle and location, three kinds that play nothing alike — covers Monopoly GO, Atlas Earth and Landlord GO. The two pillars now point at each other, which they did not before: property-games linked here, and nothing linked back.

And the part of the genre nobody maintains a list of: the games that shut down — Minecraft Earth, Wizards Unite, Catan: World Explorers and more, with dates, and which of them are still wrongly assumed dead.

Where BloodRivals fits

BloodRivals is a territory game with an economy: you claim real addresses, build them up, they generate income, and other players can take them from you. Closer to Ingress than to Pokémon GO, but the unit of play is property and income rather than portals and fields.

One thing we will not do is pad the map: there are no bots to farm. Every rival you meet is a person, every claimed corner belongs to someone real. That is the honest trade — a smaller board than the giants, with nothing on it that isn't a player.

It's built by the team behind one of Norway's first location-based multiplayer games, which drew 35,000 players. This is a modern take on the same idea.

The board, right now

Because density is the whole question, here are our actual live numbers rather than a claim about them: 123 registered players holding 23,664 properties. (as published 2026-09-13 — the app shows the live count)

Going deeper: how territory games work as a mechanic, and what playing by walking is actually like day to day, and an honest answer for anyone bored of catching games.

Who it isn't for

Being straight about this saves everyone time. We are a small and young game, and we are dense in Norway and thin most other places. If you're somewhere we haven't reached, you'd be starting a board rather than joining one — which is either the appeal or the dealbreaker depending on the person. If you want a guaranteed-busy map tonight, play Pokémon GO; that's an honest answer.

If you like the idea of a map where every corner belongs to somebody and you can take it, that's exactly what this is.

Common questions

What is a location-based game?: A game whose board is the real world — your physical position is the input. That covers catching games like Pokémon GO, territory games like Ingress and Turf, and property games where you claim real addresses.
Which location-based games are still active in 2026?: Pokémon GO remains by far the largest. Checked against the App Store on 16 August 2026, Ingress, Turf, Pikmin Bloom, Orna, Monster Hunter Now and Geocaching had all shipped a build within the previous six months, alongside smaller entries like BloodRivals. Worth checking yourself before investing time in any of them, because a store listing outlives the work on it — sometimes by years. Our page on games that shut down lists the ones still installable that have not shipped in a long time.
Do location-based games need AR?: No. AR is a presentation choice, not the genre. Most are perfectly playable with the camera off, and several — including BloodRivals — have no AR mode at all.
Do you need mobile data to play?: Generally yes, since the map and other players' positions come from a server. Data use is usually modest compared with battery use, which is the real cost.
Which location-based game should a beginner start with?: Pokémon GO if you want a guaranteed-busy map wherever you are. Geocaching if you want exploring without competition. A territory game if you want what you hold to be at risk — and check its population near you first, because that decides the experience more than the features do.

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