"Pokemon Go" Continues Its World Domination

Several weeks after its massively popular release, it may feel like the whole world has "Pokemon Go," but the game's international domination isn't complete yet. Although it's omnipresent on social media, it's only been released in certain countries, leaving many prospective Pokemon trainers with a pressing question: Which countries have "Pokemon Go," and more importantly, when will the game be released in their country? Fortunately for '90s kids across the world, developer Niantic expanded "Pokemon Go" to 15 more countries in Asia this weekend — although there are some notable exceptions.

In its initial release in early July, the augmented reality game was available in just three lucky countries: the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Originally, it was intended to be released worldwide all at once, but server issues forced Niantic to delay the game's rollout in other countries. (If you've been playing the game from the beginning, you know that these server issues have plagued "Pokemon Go" off and on ever since.) Over the past few weeks, the game has slowly expanded to other countries, where its Pokemon were welcomed with open arms (and Pokeballs). Germany was the first European country to have access to the sensation, but by the end of July, the list expanded to include France and the UK. On Aug. 3, "Pokemon Go" finally became available in South and Central American countries just in time for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Although the game was rolled out to Hong Kong and Japan within a few weeks, much of Asia was left out until recently. However, Niantic announced on Aug. 6 that "Pokemon Go" would finally become available in 15 new countries in Asia and Oceania. According to the "Pokemon Go" website, these are the lucky countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Solomon Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau.

It's big news for millions of people, but there are a few significant names missing: China, India, and South Korea are nowhere to be found on the list. According to Tech Crunch, mobile game regulations may be causing the hold up in China, and issues with Google Maps could be the reason for South Korea's absence. Considering the country's massive number of smartphone users, it's safe to say "Pokemon Go" will eventually become available in India — hopefully sooner rather than later. In the meantime, maybe get used to seeing Pokemon all over your newsfeed.

Image: Giphy