Niantic has announced plans for 'NBA All-World'.

The 'Pokemon Go' developer is working on a real-world smartphone game focused on the culture of basketball, and it looks to encourage and reward players who explore their local area.

The description for the game reads: "NBA All-World unleashes the new era of Hoops.

"Get outside, step into the sneakers of today's NBA stars and go one v one against the best players in the world. Explore your neighborhood while competing in mini-games to become King of the Court.

"Be on the lookout for sneaker and gear drops to flex your style and increase the performance of your squad. Represent where you're from along with the best ballers in the world."

Players are able to pre-register now with a beta launch coming "soon" in certain regions, with the team continuing to test and improve the game.

The team explained: "'NBA All-World' will soon be entering soft launch and will initially be available in limited markets for beta testing.

"Throughout the soft launch period, we will be testing and iterating on the gameplay experience as we gather feedback from our beta testers."

Marcus Matthews - senior producer at Niantic - added in a statement: "'NBA All-World' represents an industry first in sports games, as an original, real-world mobile game that will appeal to casual and core NBA fans alike.

"We're creating and designing a game that empowers players to represent where they're from and showcase their individual style."