Mixed reality game

A mixed reality game, sometimes called a hybrid reality game, is a game that blends virtual and physical elements so that players interact with both at the same time, rather than existing entirely in a physical space or entirely inside a computer-generated one. Researchers who study the format describe it as lacking a single primary play space, since the same game can be running simultaneously across physical locations, digital systems and represented spaces that link the two together. This sets it apart from pure virtual reality, where play happens entirely inside a simulated environment, and from augmented reality, where digital images are layered over the real world but cannot actually interact with it. In a mixed reality game the digital and physical layers respond to each other in real time. Well known examples of the format include location based smartphone games such as Pokemon GO, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Ingress, along with earlier experiments such as Human Pacman and fitness titles such as Zombies, Run!.