Pokémon Go’s buddy update is live

One of the summer’s biggest hits is finally getting some new features to keep players engaged.

Niantic updated Pokémon Go today to add the Buddy system that enables players to earn candy for a designated monster. The patch is live now on iOS and Android in North America, and it should roll out to other territories soon. Pokémon Go is a Google Maps-powered location game that hides digital animals in the world for players to catch. It is the top-grossing game in the $36.6 billion mobile gaming industry, and it recently set a record as the fastest smartphone game ever to reach $500 million in revenues. With today’s update, Niantic is attempting to keep players attached to the game with fresh content and ways to interact with the digital creature-catching simulator.