Hi everyone,

I’m Jessica, Lead Producer for Peridot and today, we’re excited to announce that Demi Lovato is joining forces with Peridot on the Make Green Tuesday Moves initiative this December!

Our PlanetPlay partnership over the last four months has been a huge success for the Peridot team. Thanks to our amazing community, we’ve already helped save nearly 10,000 trees via our participation in this innovative initiative supporting global sustainability and decarbonization efforts. It’s part of our ongoing commitment to make the world a better place for future generations of Dots and their Keepers.

At Niantic, we believe in using technology to create positive change in our communities which is why the Peridot team has also explored other initiatives in 2024 that advance this mission such as initiatives focusing on inclusivity, mental wellness, and healthcare. Let’s take a look at how our adorable Dots have been making real-world impact throughout the year.

Celebrating Pride with Purpose

This June, we were proud to introduce our special Rainbow Basket initiative, bringing back the spirit of Pride into the world of Peridot. This unique in-game offering featured Dots styled after various Pride flags, with designs changing daily to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community’s diverse identities. This is an important cause that the Peridot team is deeply passionate about and this year, we were able to continue the momentum from last year, in our efforts supporting the Transgender Law Center and their crucial work advocating for transgender and gender nonconforming people’s rights.

Pause with Peridot: Nurturing Mental Wellness

In October 2024, Peridot launched a new micro-experience called “Pause with Peridot” in recognition of World Mental Health Day and in partnership with Safe in Our World, a mental health charity focused on gaming. This thoughtful initiative, developed in Niantic Studio, focuses on accessible breathing exercises, creating moments of calm in our users’ daily lives. What began as a simple concept has evolved into a wellness companion, offering peaceful moments of respite throughout the day.

Revolutionizing Rehabilitation with Augment Therapy

In one of our most groundbreaking initiatives, the Peridot team partnered with Augment Therapy to transform physical rehabilitation through the power of virtual pets. This collaboration brings Peridot-inspired experiences to pediatric and geriatric care settings. By combining AR technology with therapeutic movements, we’re creating engaging rehabilitation experiences that feel more like play than therapy. The partnership extends across top pediatric hospitals, outpatient rehab clinics, and long-term care facilities, with promising early results in prototype testing.

Our partnership with Augment Therapy goes beyond creating therapeutic experiences – we’re diving deep into understanding their impact. Through carefully designed multi-phased research, we’re investigating how virtual companions can motivate and improve rehabilitation outcomes. Building on the well-documented benefits of traditional animal-assisted therapy, we’re exploring an exciting question: can digital pets provide similar therapeutic benefits? By measuring how patients engage with virtual companions during their exercises, we hope to help pioneer new frontiers in rehabilitation technology.

Looking Forward

Each of these initiatives represents a different facet of our commitment to social impact through gaming. As we continue to evolve and grow, we remain committed to finding new ways to make the world more magical, inclusive, and sustainable through the power of play.

We’re grateful to our partners who help us amplify our impact. And most importantly, we’re thankful to our player community, whose engagement and support make these initiatives possible.

Together, we’re proving that gaming can do more than entertain - it can transform lives, support communities, and contribute to a better world for everyone.

–Jessica Jung (Product Manager) & the Peridot team