Hundreds of players gathered in New York's Times Square on Thursday to battle a giant Mewtwo, marking Pokémon Go's 10th anniversary with a nod to the game's original trailer from a decade ago. The event showcased the enduring pull of a mobile game that has been downloaded more than a billion times and still sees millions logging on daily.
Released in 2016 for iOS and Android, Pokémon Go uses GPS and augmented reality to overlay digital creatures onto real-world locations, turning parks and shopping malls into hunting grounds. It quickly became one of the biggest mobile launches in history, sparking a craze that saw people flock outdoors to catch virtual monsters. More than 100 billion kilometres have been explored by players while playing, Scopely estimates — roughly 334 round trips between Earth and the Sun — and the game has hosted live events in over 60 countries, averaging more than 400,000 attendees each year since the first Go Fest in 2017.
“Pokémon Go marks 10th anniversary with Times Square event; billions of downloads and millions still play daily.”
For many, the hunt has become a social lifeline. "Pokémon Go 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." The connection runs deep: UK content creator j0beates, 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 said.
Matthew Reynolds, editor of Pokémon news website One More Catch, said the game helped realise a long-held dream: "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." As the app enters its second decade, its power to bring people together — one pixelated monster at a time — shows no sign of fading.