Niantic buys developer experience company Hoss to expand Lightship ARDK

Pokemon Go developer Niantic has acquired developer experience company Hoss for an undisclosed fee.

Niantic said Hoss will work to accelerate and expand the Lightship developer experience by creating a new set of tools that will make the in-beta ARDK more accessible.

Hoss has specifically been charged with building out the Lightship platform portal ahead of its official launch on November 8, 2021, and will then continuously iterate on the ARDK as more developers jump aboard.

"As we prepare to open the Lightship platform to developers around the world, it’s critically important that we get two things right -- both the tools in the ARDK to help developers build new experiences, and the developer experience as we work together to build this exciting new world of AR experiences," said Niantic chief product officer, Kei Kawai.

The news comes just two months after Niantic appointed Oculus veteran Dan Morris as its new director of developer relations to liaise with creators interested in leveraging Lightship.