News

Pokémon Go Plus + hardware works with your favourite Pokémon apps

The dedicated Pokémon accessory is back, powering up your Pokémon Go and Pokémon Sleep experiences this summer

Pokémon Go Plus + hardware works with your favourite Pokémon apps

Today is Pokémon Day, 27 February 2023, and on such a day comes the annual Pokémon Presents. In addition to news regarding mobile game updates, tournaments and Switch DLC, The Pokémon Company also revealed more about the upcoming accessory: the Pokémon Go Plus +.

With a plus (or two)

The Pokémon Go Plus + was first teased prior to the pandemic, all the way back in 2019. Revealed alongside Pokémon Sleep, The Pokémon Company president and CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara stated at the time: "Everyone spends a large part of their life sleeping and turning that into entertainment is our next challenge."

After nearly four years of silence on the topic, today’s Pokémon Presents has reassured audiences that Pokémon Sleep is still coming, and of course, the Plus + with it. In fact, the device may wind up launching ahead of the mobile game, releasing on 14 July 2023. The app, meanwhile, has an ambiguous launch date, but is expected sometime this year.

Suitably, given its Poké Ball-like appearance, the Plus + has a Pokémon living inside it; by pressing a button, the voice of Pikachu will be heard singing lullabies to help players sleep. (Will a singing Pikachu help anyone sleep?)

Pressing this button will also begin logging data in the mobile game, assessing the player’s rest.

Diverse functionality

While clearly marketed for its applications with Sleep, the Plus + also functions, as its name suggests, with Pokémon Go. Players walking with the device won’t need to open Go to make attempts at catching Pokémon, and they won’t need to open it to spin PokéStops either. The product’s cross-compatibility between games echoes the 2018 Poké Ball Plus, which had utility both in Go and as a Nintendo Switch controller.

As mobile-adjacent accessories go, there are cases outside of the Pokémon universe, of course. A recent example is gaming platform Quell and its fitness equipment called Impact, a set of peripherals allowing users to play games that synchronise with movement.


News Editor

Aaron is the News Editor at PG.biz and has an honours degree in Creative Writing.
Having spent far too many hours playing Pokémon, he's now on a quest to be the very best like no one ever was...at putting words in the right order.