Millions of people around the world are still trying to catch 'em all a decade after Pokémon Go launched – and for many, the augmented reality game has become about far more than just collecting virtual creatures.
Hundreds of players gathered in New York's Times Square on Thursday to battle a giant Mewtwo, a reference to the game's original trailer from over a decade ago. The event marked Pokémon Go's 10th anniversary, celebrating a mobile app that has been downloaded more than a billion times across iOS and Android devices.
“Pokémon Go celebrates 10 years with Times Square event; over 1 billion downloads and millions still play daily.”
“It will always start with community – we think we're only scratching the surface here,” said Michael Steranka, vice president of product at Scopely, the game's publisher. “We often receive wedding invites from players who met through Pokémon Go because it's been such an integral part of their relationship.”
When it was released in 2016, Pokémon Go quickly became one of the biggest mobile game launches in history. The technology overlays digital creatures onto a live view of the real world through a smartphone's camera, making it appear as though they're standing in front of the player. It sparked a craze where people flocked to parks, waterfronts and shopping malls in the hope of catching Pokémon.
“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.
The game's popularity has endured. It has hosted major live events in more than 60 countries, averaging more than 400,000 attendees a year since the first Go Fest in 2017. Scopely estimates players have explored over 100 billion kilometres while playing Pokémon Go – roughly 334 round trips between the Earth and the Sun.
UK content creator j0beats, who runs one of Twitch's biggest channels dedicated to the game, regularly travels to events like the one in New York to meet fellow players. “People always think it's crazy that you travel all over just to catch some pixels,” she laughs.
Ten years after its mobile debut, millions still log on each day – proof, perhaps, that the hunt for virtual monsters continues to bring people together in real life.