The Pokémon Go "Nearby" tracker feature expands to a few new cities

Niantic Labs began testing a new “Nearby” tracker feature in August for its hit augmented reality game Pokémon Go, but limited the test to parts of San Francisco. Now, the company is expanding that test, but only to a few additional U.S. cities.

In a blog post, Niantic stated that the Nearby Pokémon feature is now live in the rest of the San Francisco Bay area, along with parts of Arizona and the Seattle area of Washington. The company added that it will continue to take feedback from Pokémon Go players in those regions, and make changes to the tracking feature if needed, before expanding it to more areas.

The feature allows players to see nearby Pokémon if they are close to a Pokéstop location. Tapping it shows players where to get them by switching over to a bird’s eye view map. The feature is also supposed to give players a heads-up if their desired Pokémon decides to leave the nearby Pokéstop before they arrive at that location.

Do you live in one of the new areas where the Nearby Pokémon feature has gone live, and if so, has it helped you find and catch new creatures in the game?