Heritage sites along the coast of Wirral are about to become digitally ‘curated’ in a range of popular video games.

US technology company Niantic is best known as the creators of mobile gaming phenomenon Pokémon GO, alongside other popular titles such as Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Ingress.

The firm has partnered with Big Heritage, a North West based heritage engagement organisation, to bring new elements of the Birkenhead and Liverpool coastline action the gaming action.

Dean Paton, CEO of Big Heritage said: “It’s really exciting to once again link up with Niantic and imbed some history into their games. Both organisations are passionate about helping people to explore the world around them.

The Birkenhead map of Pokemon is now a lot busier

The Birkenhead map of Pokemon is now a lot busier

"Liverpool may be the most well known of the two, but Birkenhead has a hugely enviable history – once a mini Viking kingdom, home of the first tramways in Europe, birth place of Guide Dogs, the British Legion and without Birkenhead there would be no Central Park in New York. It’s fantastic to be using real-world AR technology to talk about these historic events"

The companies first linked up in 2017 to turn the Roman city of Chester into one of the world’s best locations to play their games, with the Big Heritage team embedding snippets of historic information into points of interest in the game, allowing players to learn as they played.

This culminated into a weekend event in the city which saw nearly 20,000 people turn Chester into one of the world’s largest digital gaming events.

Since 2017, the city has welcomed thousands of tourists from across the UK and abroad, who travelled to Chester specifically for the quality of its gaming offer.

Places of interest from both Wirral and Liverpool have been added to the game

Places of interest from both Wirral and Liverpool have been added to the game

This latest partnership will see Big Heritage once again create over 100 new historic points of interest alongside both coasts of the River Mersey which will be in place for summer.

The new stops will be spread along the Wirral Coastal footpaths and Liverpool Waterfront to encourage players to walk to new historic gems along the seafront.

Yennie Solheim, Director of Social Impact at Niantic, said: “We’re so excited to continue our partnership with Big Heritage in a meaningful and interactive way.

"By using game locations to highlight local history, we hope to continue to encourage exploration in amazing places like Wirral and Liverpool.”

Big Heritage are planning a series of new investments into Birkenhead, including plans for a new heritage attraction in the town.

The company operate the internationally renowned Western Approaches site in Liverpool, the Deva Roman Discovery Centre and the new Sick to Death medical museum in Chester, which has become one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions since opening in May this year.