Hundreds of Pokémon Go players gathered in New York's Times Square on Thursday to battle a giant Mewtwo — a reference to the game's original trailer published over a decade ago. The event marked the 10th anniversary of the mobile app, which has been downloaded more than a billion times across iOS and Android devices, with millions still logging on each day.
Released in 2016, Pokémon Go quickly became one of the biggest mobile game launches in history. It 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're standing in front of the player. The technology sparked a craze where people flocked to parks, waterfronts and shopping malls in the hope of catching Pokémon.
“Pokémon Go marks 10 years with millions still playing, as Scopely emphasizes community over pixels.”
"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, the game's publisher, estimates players have explored over 100 billion kilometres while playing Pokémon Go — roughly 334 round trips between the Earth and the Sun.
Michael Steranka, vice president of product at Scopely, says the Pokémon Go 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 says. "We often receive wedding invites from players who met through Pokémon Go... because it's been such an integral part of their relationship."
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.
The Pokémon series itself started out on Nintendo's portable Game Boy console in 1996, and has found modern success on people's phones. For ten years, Pokémon Go has continued to draw players into the real world, one virtual creature at a time — and if Steranka's vision holds, the community will remain at its core.