Hundreds of Pokémon Go players gathered in New York's Times Square on Thursday to battle a giant Mewtwo, marking the game's 10th anniversary with a nod to its original trailer from over a decade ago. The event underscored the enduring appeal of the mobile app, which uses GPS and augmented reality to let players catch virtual monsters in real-world locations.
Pokémon Go was released in 2016 and quickly became one of the biggest mobile game launches in history. It has been downloaded more than a billion times across iOS and Android, with millions still logging on each day. Michael Steranka, vice president of product at the game's publisher Scopely, says the experience has always been about community. "Pokémon Go will always start with community - we think we're only scratching the surface here," he told the BBC. "We often receive wedding invites from players who met through Pokémon Go... because it's been such an integral part of their relationship."
“Pokémon Go celebrates 10th anniversary with over a billion downloads and millions still playing daily.”
The game overlays digital creatures onto a live view of the real world through a smartphone camera, sparking a craze that saw people flock to parks, waterfronts and shopping malls. "By allowing you to take your mobile phone out into the world to discover virtual creatures, Pokémon Go helped realise the millennial dream of becoming a Pokémon Trainer," said Matthew Reynolds, editor of Pokémon news website One More Catch.
Since the first Go Fest in 2017, the game has hosted major live events in more than 60 countries, averaging over 400,000 attendees a year. Scopely estimates players have explored more than 100 billion kilometres while playing - roughly 334 round trips between Earth and the Sun. UK content creator j0beats, who runs one of Twitch's biggest Pokémon Go channels, regularly travels to events like the one in New York. "People always think it's crazy that you travel all over just to catch some pixels," she laughed. But for millions, the hunt continues.