Is Pokémon Go Partnering With McDonald’s?

With Pokémon Go coming out of nowhere to become an overnight obsession, it makes sense that the game’s maker, Niantic, is looking to cash in with brand-name partnerships. Who will be the first to pay up to be associated with the wildly popular game?

Turns out one possibility is McDonald’s, you know, the largest fast food company in the world, according to a report from Gizmodo.

Reddit users claim to have uncovered the possibly brewing relationship between Niantic and McDonald’s by decoding the Android version of the game.

An Australian student says he discovered a few odd-looking strings in the code that he believes indicate a sponsorship system in the making.

Gizmodo reports that one of the strings — which hasn’t actually been activated in the game — includes the word McDonald’s.

Additionally, other redditors claim to have found the McDonald’s logo in the game’s code.

“The first chunk was garbage, but I eventually got to a bunch of strings,” the Australian redditor tells Gizmodo. “I just searched things until I got things that were promising, for instance, I searched sponsor and partnership and got to the McDonald’s string set.”

While Niantic and McDonald’s haven’t commented on the possible partnership, the reddit sleuths suggest that the promo would turn all of the fast food restaurant’s locations into gyms, where game players exercise the creatures they capture.

If the partnership comes to fruition it would be the first official link between the popular game and businesses. While there currently aren’t any Pokémon Go-certified partnerships out there, many businesses that have found themselves part of the game have used the status to drum up business, notifying players they must be paying customers to come in.

It Looks Like Pokémon Go Is Pursuing a Partnership With McDonald’s [Gizmodo]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist