Just before the battle against a giant Mewtwo in New York's Times Square on Thursday, UK content creator j0beats laughed as she described the reaction she gets. "People always think it's crazy that you travel all over just to catch some pixels," she said. J0beats runs one of Twitch's biggest channels dedicated to Pokémon Go, a mobile game that this week marks its 10th anniversary. Since its launch in 2016, the app has been downloaded more than a billion times across iOS and Android, with millions still logging on each day.
The technology uses GPS and augmented reality to overlay digital creatures onto a live view of the real world through a smartphone's camera, making it appear as though they are standing in front of the player. It sparked an immediate craze, with people flocking 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.
“Pokémon Go marks its 10th anniversary with over a billion downloads and a UK content creator still travelling the world for the game.”
Michael Steranka, vice president of product at the game's publisher Scopely, said the experience has always been about bringing people together. "Pokémon Go will always start with community – we think we're only scratching the surface here," he said. "We often receive wedding invites from players who met through Pokémon Go... because it's been such an integral part of their relationship."
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. For j0beats and countless others, the hunt continues, even a decade on. As the game passes its landmark anniversary, its ability to sustain a global community offers lessons for the future of location-based gaming.