Star Wars Find the Force event is an augmented reality treasure hunt

Lucasfilm and Disney have announced their second 'Force Friday' event, which they're simply calling 'Force Friday II.' The first Force Friday was held in 2015, and this upcoming one will be held on September 1, the companies say. Ushering it in will be an event Disney is calling 'Find the Force,' which is described as being an augmented reality-based treasure hunt that spans the globe. It's not quite what you're imaging, though.

If the thought of a global AR hunt sounds fun, prepare to be disappointed. The event seems to revolve around getting sales for 'The Last Jedi' merchandise, as Disney explains that players will need to find special 'Find the Force' graphics located in retail stores throughout the world. Use the 'Star Wars' app to scan the graphic and you'll unlock an AR character who appears in your room.

The technology isn't unlike what we get with Pokemon Go, though far less exciting. You're not going to be hunting down Star Wars characters in random locations, but rather engaging in glorified QR code scanning. Users are able to take images and record videos of the AR character in their room, though, so that may be enough to get kids excited.

The 'Find the Force' event will cover 20,000 retail stores spanning 30 countries, and will run from September 1 to September 3. New characters will be revealed daily with a total of 15 overall characters being offered. You'll need to be running Star Wars app version 2.3 or higher to utilize the AR feature. Scan the square image above to get an idea of what to expect.

SOURCE: Star Wars