Hands-on with 'PoGo' the first Pokemon Go client for Windows 10 Mobile!

While there is no official Pokemon Go client for Windows 10 Mobile - and no signs of one coming anytime soon, either - users now have a glimmer of hope with PoGo-UWP. The open source project started by ST-Apps is available on Github and while it takes a little effort to get it installed (especially if you do not already have a Pokémon Trainer Club account logged into the real Pokemon Go app) it is a significant step for fans of the game..

We took time from our typically slow Sunday to load it up on our Lumia 950 XL to see what all the fuss was about. You can see our results in our new hands-on video of the app, which even shows us catching a "real" (ahem) Pokémon.

Considering the project just got started, it is not half bad. There are limitations everywhere, but you can see the fundamentals getting their due. Here is what we noticed so far:

Pokemon do show up, but there are delays when compared to the clients on iOS and Android. These are likely attributable to the fussy nature of the servers, but you should leave the map on for a minute or two at least and no touch it
The game kind of cheats - You can capture a Pokemon each and every time on the first shot. There is no "skill" as you tap the ball, and it throws it for you at this time
You can use Pokestops, but Gyms, Lures, and other aspects are not yet displayed
You cannot access the shop, Pokedex, see your items, or your captured Pokemon yet

Nonetheless, it is still rather neat to see the game basically work. Clearly, there is a lot of polish and features that need to be added, but assuming Niantic does not get it shut down, those should come in due time.

ST-Apps has done an impressive job so far. Now it's up to the community to continue the work. Maybe they can take it to the next level and Find 'em All could merge into PoGo to create the one-stop Pokemon Go app that Android and iOS users could not imagine.

For more information, follow the story link below on how to get started with PoGo-UWP today:

Get Pokémon Go on Windows 10 Mobile right now with the PoGo-UWP beta client!

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007 when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and for some reason, watches. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.

129 Comments

Wow. Slick work!
if they can merge find em all and this that would be cool
I heard find em all was shut down. Is this true? I haven't been able to login to my account. Gives me an invalid username/password error. I just created the account and I can sign into my account on the PTC site.
I was waiting and u delivered... Thanx man!
this will be banned as SnapChat from Rudy Huyn
It's not in the store, it can't be, unless they disband their API, then theres no data to read as far as Pokémon :p which won't happen.
Well duhh ofcorse its not in the app store. You have to iligally download it via windows 10 computer. So hence my comment at the bottom.
ilegally? O.o
download illegally? this isn't copyright infringement.
Side loading apps is legal, and as the app uses API's from Pokémon Go, it again, is legal. So where do you see it saying "its illegal to download this"?
What is illegal about this app?
The use of trademark designs, names, gameplay...just out of the top of my head. If Nintendo wants to, they can sue the authors of the app into poverty over this.
Lol armchair lawyers. They can't sue until it's monetized or proven that it's taking from the original owners profits.
Do you love it? I love the way people use the word "illegal." It might even actually *be* a tort.... but that would be a civil matter and it would be against the publishers, not the users. That doesn't even come close to make this an "illegal download," so, everyone put their authoritarian hats away and take a xanax.
Nope, they aren't using anything copyrighted.
The art (models etc.) is original?
Can't copyright gameplay, not sure about the others.
The data Niantic is sending isn't encrypted. I'm sure it will be as people start making cheat apps and 3rd party clients.
The official/real reason why 6snap was banned was that it was a potential security and privacy nightmare. It relied on a reverse-engineered private API (unlike the Pokemon Go one, I believe) and if the developer so desired, they could even allow users to save snaps without notifying the sender, hence breaking one of the key points of the Snapchat experience. Snapchat Inc. had faced lawsuits over a data breach and they wanted to block third party API access after that. Pokemon Go doesn't really seem to have personal information; so, this is less likely to be blocked.
Your wrong...itz because the snapchat CEO is a Dick. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android.. But waiting for the HP Elite so I can get rid of this junkie Galaxy S5...
He is; not denying that. The security trouble is also real.
Where has he said he hates Windows, Microsoft, etc and he won't do it because he hates it all so...? I'm curious, because i'd just like to read about it.
I'm a little lazy to look for the post now, but I remember when someone asked him on Twitter about whether an official Snapchat app was coming to Windows Phone (in the midst of all the 6snap drama), he answered with a snide comment like, "Didn't know anyone used those. ;-)" That shows his attitude towards customers and Windows Phone. If anything, he would have said something like, "unfortunately, we currently don't blablabla," but he chose to insult WP.
Hopefully, that's all the evidence there is for his disdain. Hopefully he is also a smart man and is aware of the Windows 10 universal apps and realizes he is alienating more than phone users.
He doesn't seem to care who he's alienating. If they use Microsoft devices, its tough. I hope you're right though and he sees sense
It was a year or two ago. But he stated himself that he disliked Microsoft and wasn't going to have Snapchat create an app for windows. Can't give a link as.. Like I said... It was a good year or two ago :p
Yeah the CEO is a ******.
6 stars? I'd give him 4.
I'd give him 3.
lol. This is the official reason.
Why bother for not having snapchat on Windows Phone? Snapchat is full of non-sense. I think very few people will use it by 2017.
Lol
Now i can't login
I think I might take a look at the source and potentially help, the only thing is that I am not a game developer haha, but hopefully I could be of some kind of help :).
It won't be long 'til Nintendo decides to shut down the project. Let's enjoy the game while we still can, fellows!
I do not see Nintendo's name anywhere on this game. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
See that "The Pokémon Company" on the splash screen when you open the game, under the Niantic logo? Yeah. "The Pokémon Company" is owned by Nintendo.
Incorrect. Nintendo has a 30% share in The Pokemon Company, and is not in control of it in any way.
I've heard that Nintendo still holds the rights to the Pokemon license, but The Pokemon Company was formed to manage said license. Sounds like a weird arrangement if true.
It's fairly likely that they could look at the traffic from this game and block it on the server level, without even going thru Microsoft. That said, Microsoft is likely to be very accomodating to a request coming from them, no matter what the game is called and whether they use any of their copyrighted material or not.
Nintendo has nothing to do with this game.
Nintendo owns The Pokémon Company who owns all the rights to anything related to Pokémon. So yeah, Nintendo does have everything to do with a game that is based on their intelectual property.
Nintendo owns 30% of the Pokémon Company. Not quite all of it. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
and 30% of niantic, and 30% of game freaks, and 30% of creatures inc. All in all controlling interest lies with Nintendo.
Ha Ha Ha. That's why the Nintendo stocks plunged after investors realized that Nintendo had almost zero to do with this app. Their name isn't even on the app for crying out loud!
No, they own shares in the company.
I had read that part of the issue with porting it to Winmo10 was that it uses Google Maps.
Everyone keeps saying this but it's categorically wrong. Google Maps can run on Windows just fine (see gMaps).
That's right. A lot of people just assumed, "Oh, it has Google in its name, won't run on Windows." and perpetuated that myth. Google Maps is a web-based API to my knowledge and you don't need a native client or experience for the specific platform to leverage it. Websites integrate Google maps too, and those websites work perfectly on Windows Phone.
Only 9 comments till yet! Where are the 5000+ people
#movedon
What about the battery consumption while playing??
Compared with other platforms
There are some differences as PoGo uses the simpler graphics and features (no AR, simple GPS, 2D graphics -- except maps), and that will consume even lesser battery life.
This game reminds me the old days where some people bought clone stuff instead of the real, like the Polystation, Adibas or Pila shoes etc. Windows mobile users do not deserve this at all...
You could have simply commended the developer's effort. If you are a windows phone(mobile) user or have been since long.. You know how much our community has been greatfull to such efforts by third party developers. In many instances our third party apps beat the first party apps in feature comparison... Ex. 6tag (I'm still a proud user) ... Yes you can always complain "but original is original". ... But in realty it doesn't matter as long as you get to enjoy/use a service on the platform you are.
I know that the 3rd patry apps are like way better than their counterparts sometimes. The thing is you can't do that to a game. A game should be the original game, especially a game like this. Just try to imagine walking down the street and someone who plays pokemon asks you about your progress or asks you to trade something idk. What would you do?
That's the thing here.. It is wrong to think that this effort by the developer is complete in and of itself The devs just laid the foundation... Why do you think he went the open source route? If the windows community wants it so bad... People with the knowledge will definitely come forward and contribute... That's the plan here imo. Windows has a team of more than 8 million testers (INSIDERS), think of this as a very small but a very exclusive version of that...
You can trade things with other players? Yes, obviously since this is in beta and not at all complete there is a feature delta. However the developer should be commended.
Actually, my stubbornness to switch from Windows 10 Mobile meant I could not share in something my wife and kids enjoyed. Because of this, I can now join them and have some fun and not feel left out.
That's sad man. To have a wife, kids and play pokecrapp instead of playing with them... Your world is SAD, man!
Are you too ignorant to communicate effectively or is English your second language? Trying to figure you what you were saying. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android
Wow... What a crappy thing to say to someone.
Don't mind him and go play Pokemon or anything else you love doing with your family!
I cant wait to get my CubeBox One S
I'll wait for Project Scarpia.
Funny you still need the official pokemon go app in order to use this. The official pokemon go has to be logged on a ios or andrioid in order for anyone to be able to iligally download pogo-uwp beta. Its not worth the effort. If it were a proper beta app it would be in the app store for windows 10 mobiles and we shouldnt have to go to all this trouble trying just to get an app where your able to be hacked by anyone in the world. My point of view is dont bother
" Its not worth the effort....for me"
FTFY
"Funny you still need the official pokemon go app in order to use this. The official pokemon go has to be logged on a ios or andrioid"
Right, but you can run any Android app on a PC using Bluestacks making the matter moot Anyway, I never understood people who don't create or add things to the community, but like to chime in and leave negative comments over something completely optional for others to do. Look, I think the "real" Pokémon Go is stupid, but whatever, let people play it. Same here. I get paid to care about this stuff, to write on it, share opinions. Not sure why others here put so much effort into something they admit is not worth their time.
the real pokemon go is stupid, pointless and it is made to control the idiots and make them even more Zombies than they already are. Probably many of those are the ones who complained about Windows 10 and "mobile gaming on PC" and "PS4 betterz because Xbox One is no 1080p60" yet, they play a really bad mobile game that has nothing new on it... people already did these kind of things in real life, finding real trasures and some even used Augmented reality for that. the difference is people actually won something on many of those competitions, while this they win nothing, they are just idiot zombies that just waste their time catching virtual nonexistant stuff because "it is popular". But of course a developer working on a workaround is better than nothing, and bluestacks or many of the free android emulators can do the job as you say. still doesn't remove the "wasting time" from a developer but if he wants to do it, and people want to play it this way, they can do it.
Emi the strange... I remember seeing you a long, long time ago in a far-away comments section filled with Microsoft haters.
_Emi_ take a pill please.
Nah, you stupid. I'm far from a fan of the game, but I play it. Just earlier, my family and I opted to walk to Peet's for coffee, then walk the opposite direction for lunch where I'm reading your ignorant comment. We have walked 3.5mi already according to my Band 2 and we had fun hatching the 5k eggs, collecting virtual monsters and took over a couple gyms as a family. If that seems like a terrible waste of time, then I feel bad for you since you can't seem to enjoy simple things in life except to hate on something you don't understand.
If anything it's forcing people to move around instead of staring at the screen. It might be stupid and pointless TO YOU but it's turned into quite a team outing
Hey Dan. Love your work. Love this site and my Lumia. Please don't take this otherwise, but since you mentioned you're being paid to care about this stuff, have you ever thought about jumping ship? Not that it's not a good thing or something else but what keeps you going on than the money of course... In midst of all the negativity around our platform(windows mobile)?
Why would I jump ship over a phone? I have Xbox, HoloLens, Band, Surface, Windows 10, PCs, laptops, tablets to write about and - frankly - make up much more market share. The phone group here are the noisiest, but not the most important in our coverage. I have a MacBook Pro, prefer Windows 10. I have an iPhone and Galaxy S7, prefer Windows 10 Mobile. If I were unhappy, I would change sites, but I like my job, the gear, the company. Ex-Windows phone users who have an axe to grind? Not so much.
That's what one looks in an editor-in-chief... :) its sad that because of some the phone group is a bit less important for the coverage, because I'm also a phone user but I understand. The scope here is way bigger than just phones. Any who.... thank you sir... For you enthusiasm and positive outlook...
I think in the the near future they will make a movie on Daniel. Which will then increase the market share of windows 10 mobile.
If I was
Your phone coverage seems fine. MS has said that mobile is not their current focus, but that it will become a focus in the future. (Maybe RS2?) Because mobile and phone is not the focus there is little to no news to cover. What new information there is, you cover. There is no reason to expect more.
Probably on RS2, as they will begin focusing on adding features. They will also make the mobile versions a consider of the feature-making (think about Continuum).
Daniel, it's because criticism is the refuge of the lazy and non-creative. Like "I can't contribute anything myself, but I can sure sit here and ***** about and judge others who try!"
Ok.
I used Bluestacks. No need for an iOS or Android device.
My point of view is you shouldn't comment on things you clearly don't understand.
People still play this? Just wondering.
Yep, but the number is down. Quit a lot already. After having playing today I'm not surpried.
Am I the only one who thinks that Pokémon game is irrelevant?
Irrelevant? Yes, you are probably the only person ;) Now, if you want to say something more opinionated like silly, dumb, waste of time, you are probably not alone. This game is highly relevant though, as it is one of the most downloaded apps for Android and iOS right now and is making a lot of money, and people evidently enjoy it.
Thanks, sorry for my English, I didn't express my opinion as I wanted but you got it right. Game is silly, dumb and waste of time for me :D
Same here. I still don't get people, but well...
Yes, it is "waste of time" for the leazy people with no imagination.
Tried to install but deploy stuck at 100%....
Need to make sure you aren't set to install to sd card by default - need to install to the device. I tried a few times before I tried this :)
Go W10M.... Those whiners can at least be answered now in some way.
Niantic need to hire this guy and let him develop a true UWP pokemon go app
Hahaha windows phone is the new android. Where developers challenge themselves
And there are not that many apps means you can become succesfull easier ;) take it from game troopers :D
I really hope so. I've installed the app and it's far from finished but a great start. We are only a small number of users but if we help developers/creative people think of ideas WP could be anything. I really hope we see more developers do this and ide also love to see Kodi on WM10 soon to.
What are all the blue dots? I don't have those in my version.
So there are not (m)any where you are. Go walking and you'll see them. They are there.
Pokestops. Tap them to get free items
Can I use my username and password from Find'Em All?
Yes, I can. :)
But since it let's you catch anything on the first try, won't Niantic start banning people who use this? They have banned and still do ban accounts for cheating. Not usually pessimistic, but just a word of caution.
Well if they dont say we will bring it to windows phones i dunno how fair the ban can be :P just offer this guy a job already niantic and provide some help and insight :3
Blackmailing a business into cooperation isn't usually an advisable business strategy.
But since it let's you catch anything on the first try, won't Niantic start banning people who use this? They have banned and still do ban accounts for cheating. Not usually pessimistic, but just a word of caution.
Just for the sake of trying I installed the app on my Lumia 950. Thx dev. I think it's nice to do a couple of times, but it got boring fast. I guess it will for the majority of users too. A lot of spare time is needed. The stats on Mashable of last week state the number of Pokemon players went down quit fast. Anyway cool the dev made us go Pokemon Go on our Windows phones. And WC the short tutorial.
Here to say I hate Peck-a-boo-chu just to see the down votes. I love it!!!!
Damn he has done a good jog i didnt expect it to be that good when he said on reddit he was testing it :P
If it is UWP, can I install it on Windows 10 Tablets ? (x86)
So, I cloned the repository and deployed to my phone from Visual Studio. I have to say, it works better than the official version on my step sons Android tablet. I can't even sign in on his. I did notice that your captures are not recorded on the server. Now that I have the code I will investigate that.
I CANT WAIT TO SEE ON THE STORE SOON... EITHER PoGo or POKEMON GO......
Well, it might be a good idea to hedge your excitement about this - it looks like Niantic made some sort of decision to shut down unofficial apps and web services yesterday: Pokevision is already turned off. Curious to know if the Find 'Em All app is still working.
When finding them gets achievments..
In Australia they have started blocking Find Em All app user name and password suddenly not working for Pokémon account
still works here in Europe.
I'm surprised WC condones the use of such an app as this that circumnavigates the official app, albeit still unreleased to W10M.
Direct action.
If we can't check captured Pokemon, how do we know we are actually capturing them?
It's a beta. Very rough.
I actually dont like pokemon go but i am happy to see this. Now next step mini militia. I actually hate using an android phone for this game. Lags a lot. So waiting for it on my lumia
doesnt lag on a samsung s7 edge :)), im guessing your on a budget hadset or something else?
It's defnitely interesting, but it's only a matter of time before Niantic and Nintendo both issue the developer with 'cease and desist' legal papers. Hi Copyright Infringement!
How to download the game .... I am on Lumia 730 W10M .... Please suggest me
Watch the how-to video
Kudos to the developer for doing such an amazing job in such a short period of time!!!
I didn't really care about Pokémon go until I saw this. Now I kinda want it. I prefer console games over mobile so I never got into games on my phone, but in this case it kinda makes sense.
Already failed. Niantic have issued an update which prevents Bluestacks emulator from working, when logging into Pokemon Go you must click ok to an update to proceed at which point you'll be told you have no compatible devices. That tells you what Niantic think of a windows version, instead of taking the hard work already done and utilising it to produce an official Windows version they simply just cripple it. It's pretty much confirming there will never be a Windows phone version.
great vid. But after paypal left windows store im now on the official pokimon game on my s7 edge. I hope windows can bring back alot of the missing appsa like paypal, like wireless payments, like here maps and now im used to it i will need google maps and you tube official to be incuded. I still think widows os on mobile is my favorite by far but the apps keep bleeding and paypal was the last straw for me, not pokimon lol.

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