From the top ten to video games: Ed Sheeran in concert on Pokémon Go

Speaking of metaverses, we saw how a few days ago Niantic – the US group behind the phenomenon Pokémon Go – has significantly different ideas from Mark Zuckerberg’s on the subject of the future of the internet. From the point of view of the creators of Ingress, first, and then of the phenomenon that in the summer of 2016 made hundreds of millions of players all over the world lose their heads, the future of digital experiences will be a mix, that is an overlap between physical reality and digital content. And in the wake of what has been done several times by Epic Games on Fortnite Oh yes Roblox with performances by names like Ariana Grande last August or Travis Scott in the past is about to launch a special initiative which, albeit to a different extent, goes precisely in this direction: an Ed Sheeran concert.

The British king Midas of contemporary pop – born in 1991, over 20 million records sold, 14 nominations and 4 Grammys in his pocket – will in fact be the protagonist of a performance speciale reserved for all Pokémon Go trainers, i.e. users of the application developed by Niantic together with The Pokémon Company. To celebrate the release of his new album, “=” (Equals), released on October 29th, users will be able to enjoy some of the musician’s latest songs, as well as his hits that have become classics, through a private video concert and pre-recorded, accessible only through Pokémon Go. But obviously enriched by the intervention of the “hosts”.

The debut is set at 22 november and the lineup includes titles like “Perfect”, “Bad Habits”, “Overpass Graffiti”, “Thinking Out Loud”, “First Times” and “Shivers”. The video will remain available for eight days, from 11 am Pacific time on the 22nd of the month, at this time of the year nine hours less than in Italy, until next November 30th. Players will receive information on how to view the concert via news section notifications directly on the app. In some countries, users will also be able to click on advertisements on sponsored balloons, also within Pokémon Go.

There is also another surprise: Squirtle, Ed Sheeran’s favorite character in the very complicated ecosystem of Japanese monsters invented in the mid-1990s by computer scientist Satoshi Tajiri, will appear in Pokémon Go in all its glory. In addition, always in the name of pushed cross-media, players will also be able to redeem a special code to receive an exclusive item for your Pokémon Go avatar, a sweatshirt inspired by the “?” by Ed Sheeran and that the singer will wear during his special performance. The code is 4SQS6N359Y7NPCUW and can be redeemed on a dedicated page or on the app for iOS and Google Play starting from 22 November.

In reality, during the performance, many other Pokémon will appear, sometimes even in a “shiny” version, that is chromatic: Totodile, Mudkip, Piplup, Oshawott, Froakie and Squirtle with a nice pair of sunglasses, which will also be the reward for the completion of Field Research missions. In short, Sheeran will be in excellent company. Other free rewards include an event pack containing a bait module, 20 Pokéballs, 10 Raspberry Berry and 10 Pineapple Berry.