'Pokemon Go' gets ready for Halloween

The creators of viral hit Pokémon Go are getting into the candy-giving mood.

On Monday, Niantic Labs announced its first in-game event for the hit mobile game timed to Halloween. It starts this Wednesday and runs until November 1.

The big perk of playing during the event is players will earn more candy through regular activities, such as walking with buddy Pokémon (earn 4 candies instead of 1) or finding new characters, which will net twice as much candy.

Spookier Pokémon characters such as Zubats, Drowsees and Gengars will appear at a greater frequency within players' surroundings during the Halloween event.

This is the first in-game event hosted by Pokémon Go since launching in July, where it morphed into a global phenomenon. The augmented reality game requires players to capture pocket monsters called Pokémon using GPS detailing their location. When a Pokémon is spotted, players use their smartphone camera to capture the creature, making it appear as if the character is in the real world.

The game surged in popularity upon launched, setting the record for the most downloads in Apple's App Store during its first week of availability. It was also the fastest mobile game to reach 10 million downloads, according to research firm SensorTower.

Follow Brett Molina on Twitter: @brettmolina23.