Here’s a beat I didn’t think I’d hear outside of an Onion article: The Vatican has given formal approval of Follow JC Go, a Pokémon GO style mobile game about Catholic saints.
First reported by Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, Follow JC Go is a location-based AR game. The player travels around, collecting famous religious figures as part of an evangelization team. Instead of attacking or capturing, you can convince the characters to join you by answering some questions. When not collecting, the player can eat, drink, and pray to level up.
One interesting aspect of the game is in the microtransactions. Players can purchase in-game funds not by spending money, per say, but by donating to charity. While noble, The charity itself could not be identified at this time, and I could name a few for-profit churches in the south that would gladly take charity donations.
It’s important to distinguish that the Vatican is NOT developing this game, but has given formal approval of the project.
Gotta praise ’em all, I suppose.