Take down aliens in AR! Google’s Space Invaders World Defense out on Android, iOS

Celebrating 45 years of the iconic Space Invaders, Google and Taito have launched an augmented-reality version of it on Android and iOS devices.

Space Invaders: World Defense is free to play on Android and iOS devices. (App Store)

First announced at Google I/O 2023, Space Invaders: World Defense is now available for Android and iOS devices. The game is developed by Taito Corporation in collaboration with Google. At I/O 2023, Google announced that they were partnering with Taito to create a new augmented-reality version of the iconic Space Invaders and it would use Google's AR technologies such as ARCore and Geospatial Creator. Now, the game is finally out and you can take down aliens in real-world locations!

About Space Invaders: World Defense

Google and Taito's new AR Space Invaders puts you in the seat of an elite pilot where the objective is to defend your area from invaders from outer space. Players can engage in missions across dimensions from augmented reality to the parallel Invader world. Defeating more invaders will grant you access to power-ups and bonuses, as well as earn you a place in the list of high scores.

The official description of the game on the App Store reads, “SPACE INVADERS have returned to conquer the world, this time from a different dimension. Join the World Defense team to find, and defeat SPACE INVADERS in your neighborhood.”

Space Invaders: World Defense utilizes ARCore Geospatial APIs to transform the world around you in an AR playground. The invaders can spawn from nearby buildings with Streetscape Geometry API. The game is available for ARCore-compatible iPhone and Android smartphones, in portrait orientation. As of now, tablets are not supported, and access to your device camera and location is necessary for creating an augmented playground.

You can head over to the App Store or the Google Play Store and download Space Invaders: World Defense free of cost. However, the game is not available in certain regions such as India yet.

The decline of AR games

While augmented reality games have been popular in the past, with Niantic's Pokemon Go at the forefront, the industry has struggled of late. Even Niantic shut down big AR games like Harry Potter and Transformers, and have even had to lay off employees. Other AR game developers are fighting a similar battle, with CD Projekt Red shutting down the Witcher AR, while even a Minecraft AR game was turned down back in 2021.