{"id":793698,"date":"2026-07-10T22:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T22:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/793698\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T22:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T22:09:09","slug":"pokemon-go-celebrates-its-10-year-anniversary-by-transforming-times-square-into-an-immersive-real-world-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/793698\/","title":{"rendered":"Pok\u00e9mon GO celebrates its 10-year anniversary by transforming Times Square into an immersive real-world adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK, July 10, 2026 – This week, Pok\u00e9mon GO<\/a> celebrates the game’s historic 10-year anniversary. Since launch in July 2016, Pok\u00e9mon GO has redefined video games by bringing the magic of encountering Pok\u00e9mon into the real world. A decade later, it remains one of the world’s most successful, enduring mobile games of all time, generating more than $1 billion in revenue in 2025 alone, with millions of players, known as Trainers, playing every day. Over the last 10 years, Pok\u00e9mon GO has:<\/p>\n

– Inspired 800 million+ players to explore the world together<\/p>\n

– Sustained its global phenom status as a top 10 mobile game every year since its launch with more than 1 trillion Pok\u00e9mon caught to date<\/p>\n

– Reached players in 150+ countries and regions, uniting a deeply engaged community that averages 45 minutes in daily playtime<\/p>\n

To mark the 10-year milestone, the festivities began yesterday with a surprise live event in the heart of Times Square \u2014 bringing the vision of the game’s iconic 2015 launch trailer to life along with a historic live raid battle \u2014 and will continue this weekend with Pok\u00e9mon GO Fest 2026: Global (July 11\u201312), a free worldwide in-game event open to all Trainers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

A decade of real-world adventure <\/p>\n

Since day one, Pok\u00e9mon GO has been built around one simple idea: to encourage people to get outside and connect through play. <\/p>\n

Over the past decade, that mission has come to life across neighborhood meetups, Community Ambassador events, and major live experiences, including: Pok\u00e9mon GO Fest, Pok\u00e9mon GO Wild Area, Pok\u00e9mon GO City Safari, and Pok\u00e9mon GO Tour. Global versions of the biggest live events bring the excitement of these live experiences to players everywhere. The impact over the past decade includes:<\/p>\n

– 100+ billion kilometers explored by Trainers while playing Pok\u00e9mon GO \u2014 that\u2019s 334 round trips between the Earth and the Sun<\/p>\n

– Live events across 60+ cities in 25+ countries and regions<\/p>\n

– Record attendance and engagement across three continents at Pok\u00e9mon GO Fest 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

– Millions of players attending the live events, with millions more exploring host cities while playing<\/p>\n

Pok\u00e9mon GO takes over Times Square<\/p>\n

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, yesterday \u2014 in a surprise event \u2014 Pok\u00e9mon GO transformed one of the world’s most iconic locations into an immersive real-world game board to bring to life the vision first showcased in Pok\u00e9mon GO’s 2015 launch trailer. A summary of the celebration: <\/p>\n

Trainers united to take down the legendary Pok\u00e9mon Mega Mewtwo Y in a synchronized, real-world raid battle.<\/p>\n

More than 1,000 players simultaneously battled in one of the largest in-person raids in Pok\u00e9mon GO history \u2014 all of which was streamed live for fans to enjoy. Since launch, Trainers have completed more than 10 billion raid battles worldwide.<\/p>\n

In addition to gameplay, attendees were treated to a surprise performance by the Los Angeles-based global dance music duo, Loud Luxury, setting the stage for the massive cooperative gaming feat. <\/p>\n

Hear from the Pok\u00e9mon GO team<\/p>\n

– \u201cAs Pok\u00e9mon GO celebrates its 10th anniversary, what continues to inspire us is how the community has grown with the game,\u201d said Ed Wu, President, Games at Scopely. \u201cWhat started as an invitation to explore the world around you has become something that brings players together across cities, countries, and cultures, from neighborhood meetups to celebrations that draw hundreds of thousands of people together. As we look ahead, our commitment remains unchanged: to keep evolving the game in ways that turn everyday places into opportunities for discovery and connection. We\u2019re grateful to every player who has brought Pok\u00e9mon GO to life in their community, and we\u2019re excited to keep building its future together.\u201d<\/p>\n

– \u201cWhen we first dreamt what Pok\u00e9mon GO might become a decade ago, hosting more than a thousand people in a single, local raid battle was just a pipe dream,\u201d said Michael Steranka, Vice President of Product for Pok\u00e9mon GO at Scopely. \u201cWe never stopped asking ourselves, \u2018What if?\u2019 and \u2018How could we do it?\u2019 Seeing that vision become a reality in Times Square was the perfect way to celebrate 10 years of playing together with our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next up – Pok\u00e9mon GO Fest 2026: Global and more community fun <\/p>\n

The celebration continues this weekend as Trainers around the world take part in Pok\u00e9mon GO Fest 2026: Global<\/a> starting July 11 at 10:00 a.m. through July 12 at 7:00 p.m. (local time). <\/p>\n

– To celebrate the 10-year anniversary, this year\u2019s event will be entirely free for all players who log in during the weekend. <\/p>\n

– Every participant will receive access to exclusive Special Research that leads to an encounter with the Mythical Pok\u00e9mon Zeraora, increased Shiny Pok\u00e9mon encounter rates, and event-specific gameplay bonuses without needing a paid premium ticket.<\/p>\n

Additionally, more than two dozen Pok\u00e9mon GO community celebrations will take place to bring the live experience to even more communities worldwide. <\/p>\n

– Attendees can participate in exclusive giveaways, unlock in-game rewards, and join community-led activities. <\/p>\n

– Pop-up community events offer Trainers the ability to enjoy the unique magic of a Pok\u00e9mon GO live event closer to home.<\/p>\n

– Local activations will occur across: <\/p>\n

– Asia<\/a> in India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Thailand
– Europe & Oceania<\/a> in Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Spain, and the UK
– North America<\/a> in Canada and the U.S. in California, Georgia, and Texas<\/p>\n

For more details on local community celebrations, visit the official Pok\u00e9mon GO blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK, July 10, 2026 – This week, Pok\u00e9mon GO celebrates the game’s historic 10-year anniversary. Since launch…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":793699,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[49,48,61,260,261,262],"class_list":["post-793698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-virtual-reality","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-technology","tag-virtual-reality","tag-virtualreality","tag-vr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=793698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/793698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/793699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=793698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=793698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=793698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}