Pokemon GO referral program revealed, with codes

There'll be a Pokemon GO referral program enacted in the very near future by Niantic, the creators of the game. Much like several features released in the game over the past few years, Niantic's new referral program will deliver benefits to users in exchange for interacting with other users, thereby making the game more popular and sustaining the business model of Pokemon GO. This referral program does not appear to have anything to do with cash or real-world rewards whatsoever.

The Pokemon GO referral program will focus on "rewards" given to users "whether it's their first time playing or they're returning after a break." Users who return to the game or start the game as a direct result of a referrer will receive rewards over time. The referrer will also receive rewards as the referred player advances in the game.

Per the latest APK teardown of the game, there'll be new badges in the game for referrals. There'll also be a new Referral Quest, too. There'll be rewards of all sorts!

This game's referral program will launch like many major updates to Pokemon GO – in waves. The first area in which this system will launch is Australia. The users in Australia already in the game will receive "referral codes" that they'll be able to share with friends and associates. It's likely these codes will work across borders – but it'll all launch within Australia right off the bat.

When a friend uses a code, they'll receive "rewards like Pokemon encounters, Rare Candy, Incubators, and more as they hit milestones on their adventure." Both friends will receive said rewards – though we're not currently sure if this means they'll get the SAME rewards at the same time – we shall see!