Pokémon Go reminds us it still exists with new update, adding 80 new Pokémon

Some of the Pokémon now available for fans to catch. Photo/Supplied

A lot of things that were probably better left in 2016 have managed to sneak their way into 2017. Fake news, cash me ousside, the downfall of civilisation, just to name a few.

Now one other big story from last year is trying to prove its relevance: Pokémon Go.

The mobile instalment of the long-running franchise blew up when it launched in last July, being played by around 50 million people worldwide at its peak.

Things have dropped off since then, but game makers Niantic are not willing to give up just yet.

The company has today released the game's biggest update yet, adding 80 new Pokémon for players to collect.

Fans of Gold and Silver, first released in 1999, will be able to catch their favourites from the Johto Region, including Cyndaquil, Chikorita and Totodile.

The game is also adding new ways to catch Pokémon to make it easier, and will give players a wider selection of items to accessorise their avatars with.

There will be new items for fans to collect to help with evolutions, and the game is making it cheaper for fans to upgrade their Pokémon storage options to help with the flood of new Pokemon.

While the game may have dropped out of the news cycle in about September, millions of people are still taking part.

As of last December 7, players had walked 8.7 billion kilometres in total, half of which was achieved between September and December.

In total, more than 88 billion Pokémon were caught in the first five months the game was live.

The franchise recently released its newest console games, Sun and Moon, for the Nintendo 3DS console.

The anime series inspired by the games this year will celebrate its 1000th episode in December.