Since theaugmented reality (AR)mobile gamePokémon Go was released in 2016, multiple real-life events and gatherings have been held by its developer,Niantic Labs, outside unofficial player gatherings. Typically, these events offer increased in-game rewards to participating players and often involve cooperation with local organizations or governments.

The common recurring events include the annualPokémon Go Fest, thePokémon Go Safari Zone, which has been held in multiple countries, and the monthly "Community Day" events. Larger events attract player counts ranging from thousands to as many as two million participants in a single event.^[1] The high concentration of players using mobile devices at these events has caused incidents and network disruptions, ultimately resulting in lawsuits against Niantic.

Niantic estimated thatPokémon Go live events generated approximately $249 million in tourism revenue in 2019, including $120 million in Chicago, $71 million in Montreal, and $56 million in Dortmund.^[2]

Pokémon Go (stylized asPokémon GO) is anaugmented realitymobile game developed byNiantic Labs, based on thePokémon franchise ofGame Freak, which began to release in July 2016. The game centers around catching variousPokémon creatures by navigating the in-game map based on the player's actual location and nearby landmarks.^[3] Shortly after its release, the game went viral, breaking multiple records and being installed on millions of devices within weeks of its initial release.^[4] With the game's massive initial player base, landmarks would gather crowds of players taking advantage of the "Pokéstops" which provide players with items, to the point where certain landmarks, such as theUnited States Holocaust Memorial Museum and theArlington National Cemetery, explicitly requested players to not play the game within the grounds.^[5] On the other hand, the traffic generated by the game was capitalized on by some local businesses.^[6]

During the first weeks after the game's release, multiple events and gatherings organized by the players happened across the world. Examples include a single gathering inSydney days after the game's launch, which attracted over 2,000 players,^[7] and a Facebook-based bar crawl inSan Francisco for the game collected thousands of responses and a significant number of attendees.^[8] Another player gathering atChicago'sMillennium Park gathered around 5,000 players.^[9] A zoo inBristol, which held aGo event, received more attendance than its capacity and had to turn away players.^[10]

Several months after release, the player count for the game declined, losing some one-third of its peak of 45 million active users by mid-August 2016.^[11] Niantic held the first in-game event—where different Pokémon are encountered in the game and players receive increased rewards—onHalloween of 2016, and the revenue generated by the game spiked during the period.^[12]Go had numerous more in-game events that year, including onThanksgiving Day andChristmas.^[13][14] In one November 2016 event, Niantic increased the spawn rate of the otherwise rare PokémonLapras in areas affected by the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, intended to help recover tourism in the area.^[15]

Shortly afterGo's release, during an interview withRecode, Niantic CEOJohn Hanke stated that Niantic intended to hold official events due to their experience with their previous game,Ingress. He stated that the intent of the events forGo would be to have "people coming together, having an event that moves you through an interesting part of the city so it's part walking tour, part competition, and then having a big get-together at the end where we're announcing winners [and] leaderboards." He also added that the lack of events in the early stages of the game was to ensure that Niantic could handle the expected large crowds at such events.^[16]

Prior to the release ofGo, Niantic had developed and released a similar AR game calledIngress. A component ofIngress is a series of real-life events held directly by Niantic across multiple cities. Its first post-beta event series, held in 2013, spanned over 9 weeks and involved 39 cities worldwide.^[17]The Pokémon Company (TPC) CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara was also anIngress player, which, according to Hanke, eased cooperation between Niantic and TPC forGo.^[18]

One type ofIngress event is known as "Anomalies", where gathered players in a specific location attempt to control the landmarks to score points for their factions, with clear victory objectives.^[19] Anomalies can have attendances of upwards of 1,000 players,^[20] and Hanke noted in the 2016Recode interview that an event in Japan gathered over 10,000.^[16] Additionally,Ingress also holds monthly "First Saturday" events and #NL1331 meetups (involving a mobile van).^[21]

In June 2017, Niantic announced a new "Pokémon Go Fest" event, which was held in Chicago'sGrant Park on 22 July 2017 as the game's first official real-life event.^[22] Tickets to the event, priced at US$20, were sold out within fifteen minutes of their release for sale, despite the details of the event not having been revealed then. Scalpers were reported to have attempted to resell the tickets through resellers for inflated prices.^[23] Later, it was revealed that players worldwide and players at Grant Park would contribute towards a catching target, which would unlock rewards.^[24]

On the date of the event itself,The Chicago Tribune estimated that 20,000 players attended, some having traveled across the United States or even from abroad.^[25][26] During the event itself, however, mobile networks in the park overloaded, resulting in the attendees being nearly unable to play the game. Niantic acknowledged the issue by around 2 p.m., and its CEO Hanke wasbooed when speaking on stage in front of the players.^[27] In an attempt to alleviate the network pressure, Niantic extended the in-game event area to two miles outside of Grant Park and continued the event throughout the weekend. The event at Grant Park ended on 5 p.m. local time, two hours before it was scheduled.^[26] Multiple media outlets called the event a "disaster".^[26][27][28] A spokesperson from Niantic remarked that the company's staff were "horrified" with the outcome of the event.^[29]

Immediately after the event, Niantic refunded the tickets of the attendees, in addition to giving their accounts US$100 worth of in-game currency and the legendary PokémonLugia, meant to have been released during the event.^[26] Niantic released a blog post by Hanke the following day, blaming both technical issues with the game—which were resolved according to the post—and network oversaturation due to insufficient availability ofmobile cell sites. Also, according to the blog post, 7.7 million Pokémon were captured by players in downtown Chicago during the ensuing weekend.^[30] In a 2018 interview withThe Guardian, Hanke remarked that "the first six hours of [Pokémon Go Fest] were among the most challenging of my professional life."^[31]

Later on, aGo Fest attendee, Jonathan Norton, filed aclass action lawsuit in theCircuit Court of Cook County against Niantic.^[32] The lawsuit was settled after Niantic agreed to pay US$1.575 million to compensate for non-ticket fees such as accommodation and transportation.^[33]

Despite the outcome of the 2017Go Fest, Niantic announced a secondGo Fest to be held again in Chicago, atLincoln Park, on 7 May 2018. Unlike the previous Fest, the event was held across two days—14 and 15 July.^[34] The area allocated for the event was larger, with attendees being limited to one of the two days, and additional temporary cellular network facilities were provided by major providers.^[35] Like in 2017, tickets for the event sold out rapidly, with tickets running out on the official website within half an hour and scalpers reselling the tickets for increased prices.^[36]

During the event, Lincoln Park was decorated with props resembling variousbiomes that could be found in the game. As part of the event, Pokémon that are normally rare or only found in other parts of the world spawned in the area.^[37] Attendees were also given a chance to complete "Research Quests" in-game in order to encounter the Mythical PokémonCelebi.^[38] According to Niantic, 21,000 people attended the event in Lincoln Park, with an additional 180,000 players in Chicago.^[39] The event was seen as largely successful, with relatively few technical difficulties in contrast to the 2017 event.^[37][40]

A thirdGo Fest event was announced on 4 April 2019. The 2019 event, unlike the preceding ones, was to be held in three separate cities—Chicago (Grant Park, held between 13 and 16 June),Dortmund (Westfalenpark, held between 4–7 July) andYokohama (Yamashita Park, Rinko Park, and Akarenga Park, held between 6–12 August).^[41][42] In the lead-up to the events, Niantic held a "Pokémon Go Snapshot Challenge", centered around the game's augmented reality camera feature, with the contest's main prizes being trips to theGo Fest events.^[43] Tickets for the Chicago event were distributed through a random drawing that followed in-game registration.^[44]

Niantic reported around 60,000 attendees at the Chicago event.^[45] The reported player count in Dortmund was 85,000 in the Westfalenpark across the four days,^[46] and 150,000 players participated in Yokohama.^[47]

In 2020, due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, which limited the capacity for in-person gatherings, Niantic opted for a fully onlineGo Fest, holding the event worldwide and enabling players to participate in the event at home. It was held on 25—26 July 2020.^[48]

The 2021Go Fest was held on 17–18 July, with a lower ticket price of $5.^[49] With the pandemic's impact having lessened in parts of the world, the 2021Go Fest involved at-home events still, but also a number of real-life gatherings in 21 cities across the United States and Europe. Unlike events in 2017–2019, which saw Niantic set up many Pokémon-themed builds across the parks, the 2021 events were described as having "a lighter touch", with the locations intended to be more spread out. Each of the 21 locations was still staffed by Niantic personnel.^[50][a] A special "raid egg" display was set up atMaggie Daley Park in Chicago, in reference to the first Go Fest held in the city.^[52]

The global part of the 2022Go Fest was held 4–5 June, with a finale event on 27 August.^[53] A pink flower around the logo hinted that the mythical PokémonShaymin would make itsPokémon Go debut.^[54] It was officially confirmed later.^[55] There were also in-person events in three cities on different weekends: 1–3 July inBerlin, 22–24 July inSeattle, and 5–7 August inSapporo.^{[citation needed]}

The 2023Go Fest had three cities with in-person events: 4–6 August inLondon andOsaka and 18–20 August inNew York City, as well as a global event 26–27 August.^[56]

On 12 July 2017, Niantic announced "Safari Zone" events across several cities in Europe at shopping centers operated byUnibail-Rodamco, held in August and September 2017.^[57] The events, where otherwise region-limited Pokémon could be found among others, required registration and had a player limit. For example, the event inAmsterdam was limited to 2,000 players,^[58] though unregistered players would still be able to play with increased rewards within the city.^[59] However, due to the failure of the 2017Go Fest event, Niantic delayed some Safari Zone events to fall that year.^[60]

Later in 2017, another Safari Zone event was held inTottori Prefecture,Japan, at theTottori Sand Dunes between 24 and 26 November. According to the local government, 89,000 people attended the event, which generated around US$16 million in travel and tourism revenue. In the lead-up to the event, Niantic brought several influencers on a tour around Japan as a campaign, which was namedPokémon Go Travel.^[61]

The Summer 2018 iteration of the Safari Zone—announced in conjunction with the 2018Go Fest as part of a "Summer Tour"—involved a Safari Zone event inDortmund's Westfalenpark on 30 June and 1 July and another event inYokosuka, Japan, on 29 August–2 September.^[62][63] The Dortmund event attracted some 170,000 players across the city, thrice the expected amount, with some players reporting network issues during the 2-day event.^[64]

Yokosuka's 2018 Safari Zone event, held in three parks, took up large portions of the city, with speakers playingGo's in-game music and businesses handing outPokémon merchandise.^[65] Niantic reported that 65,000 players went to one of the three parks and that 200,000 users played in Yokosuka during the event.^[66]

A Safari Zone event was held inChiayi County, Taiwan, between 26 February and 3 March 2018, during the Chiayi Lantern Festival. In total, around 200,000 players went to Chiayi—which had a population of around 500,000—for the event.^[67][68] Between 1 and 5 November 2018, another Safari Zone event was held inTainan,Taiwan. While initially expected to have 200,000 attendees, the event ended up gathering 560,000 participants, with 80,000 during the last day (a Monday) alone. Around one-tenth of the figure were players from overseas, mainly from Japan and Hong Kong. The event, which generated an estimatedNT$ 1.5 billion for the local economy, was the result of a cooperation between Niantic and the local government, though the former did not receive royalties.^[69]

The first Safari Zone event of 2019 was held inPorto Alegre,Brazil, on 25 January. 130,000 players registered to join the event, though only 25,000 were granted tickets. The event was largely conducted alongside the banks of theGuaíba River.^[70][71] Niantic later also announced another Safari Zone, held between 18 and 22 April atSentosa,Singapore.^[72] 125,000 tickets were issued, 20 percent of those to non-Singaporeans.^[73] After the event concluded, Niantic reported an attendance of 95,000 players.^[74] Between 20 and 22 September 2019, another Safari Zone event was held inMontreal,Canada, with an attendance of approximately 45,000 players. Tickets for the event were sold out in four hours.^[75] Another Taiwanese Safari Zone, held inNew Taipei City between 3 and 6 October 2019, saw 100,000 players on the first day and 150,000 on the second. The city's tourism and travel department estimates aNT$100 million profit generated by the event for local businesses. Around 40 percent of the attendees came from outside Taiwan.^[76]

For 2020, Safari Zone events were scheduled to be held inSt. Louis (27–29 March),Liverpool (17–19 April), andPhiladelphia (8–10 May).^[77] However, all three Safari Zone events were postponed due to the ongoingcoronavirus pandemic, with ticketholders receiving the Safari Zone experience in their own locales during the originally scheduled dates.^[78] The new dates were 15–17 October 2021 for Liverpool, 29–31 October for Philadelphia, and 12–14 November for St. Louis.^[79] 20,000 players attended the in-person event atSefton Park, in Liverpool,^[80] with thousands also attending the events atTower Grove Park, St. Louis,^[81] andFairmount Park, Philadelphia.^[82]

In 2022 there were scheduled Safari Zone events inSeville, Spain, 13–15 May atAlamillo Park;^[83] inGoyang, South Korea, 23–25 September atIlsan Lake Park;^[84] inTaipei, Taiwan, 21–23 October atDaan Forest Park;^[85] and inSingapore 18–20 November inGardens by the Bay.^[86]

Community Days are monthly worldwide in-game events where certain Pokémon species spawn in large amounts.^[87] An evolution of the featured Pokémon can learn an exclusive event move, which is generally stronger than its normal moves. There are also bonuses like more rewards or time for certain activities. Community Days are intended to draw players together, especially in major cities,^[88] and the events drew crowds in hotspots such asSeattle'sGreen Lake andBrighton and Hove'sHove Park.^[89][90]

The first Community Day was "Pikachu day" on 20 January 2018. In January 2022, Niantic introduced Community Day Classic, a second Community Day bringing back a previously featured Pokémon and the three-hour event duration seen pre-pandemic, but with the bonus benefits introduced because of it.^[91] The April 2022 Community Day also reverted to a 3-hour total duration.^[92]

As ofVulpix on 1 February 2026, 89 Pokémon have been featured (sixteen of them twice and two thrice): Abra, Axew, Bagon (2), Beldum (2), Bellsprout, Bounsweet, Bulbasaur (2), Chansey, Charmander (3), Chespin, Chikorita, Chimchar, Cyndaquil (2), Deino, Dratini (2), Duskull, Eevee (3), Electabuzz, Fennekin, Flabébé, Fletchling, Froakie, Fuecoco, Gastly, Alolan Geodude, Gible, Goomy, Grookey, Grubbin, Hoppip, Jangmo-o, Karrablast, Larvitar (2), Litten, Litwick, Machop (2), Magikarp, Magmar, Mankey, Mareep (2), Mudkip (2), Noibat, Oshawott, Pawmi, Pikachu, Pikipek, Piplup (2), Poliwag, Ponyta, Popplio, Porygon (2), Quaxly, Ralts (2), Rhyhorn, Roggenrola, Rookidee, Roselia, Rowlet, Sandshrew (both Alolan and Kantonian), Seedot, Sewaddle, Shelmet, Shinx, Slakoth, Slowpoke, Snivy, Solosis, Spheal, Sprigatito, Squirtle (2), Starly, Stufful, Swablu, Swinub (2), Teddiursa, Tepig, Timburr, Togetic, Torchic, Totodile (2), Trapinch, Treecko, Turtwig, Tynamo, Vanillite, Vulpix (both Alolan and Kantonian), Weedle, Wooper, Galarian Zigzagoon.^[93]

Outside the events mentioned above, Niantic has held multiple one-off events, official or in cooperation with other organizations. On 7 May 2017, the first real-life event was held inCharlotte, North Carolina.^[176] The first such officialGo event in Europe was held inChester in the United Kingdom on 22–23 July 2017 during the annual Chester Heritage Festival in partnership with local non-profit Big Heritage. It was estimated that during the two days, between 16 and 18 thousand players visited the city.^[177][178]

Between 9 and 15 August 2017, during the Pikachu Outbreak event held by TPC, Niantic heldPokémon Go Park events in two parks within the city ofYokohama, Japan.^[179] On 14 August, during the aforementioned event, aPokémon Go Stadium event was held atYokohama Stadium in which thousands of players attempted to catchMewtwo.^[1] The event was livestreamed.^[180] In total, during the seven days of the event, 2 million players participated in Yokohama,^[1] with the Pikachu Outbreak event overall recording 3 million participants, including theGo players.^[181] Due to the disruption to the city's traffic caused by the large numbers of attendees, Yokohama declined to host aGo event the following year.^[65]

In partnership with theKnight Foundation, an event was held inAkron, Ohio, on 26–27 August 2017.^[182] Niantic also partnered with the Viva CalleSan Jose event on 17 September 2017,^[183] and a second iteration of the partnership was held on 23 September 2018.^[184]Go also held scavenger hunts inPhiladelphia's 2017 Philly Free Streets^[185] and inLos Angeles in partnership withCicLAvia on 10 December 2017.^[186]

Held alongside the annualPokémon Festa, between 4 and 12 November 2017Go had an event held acrossSouth Korea.^[187] The event was repeated the following year, centered around theLotte World Mall inSeoul, between 21 and 23 September 2018.^[188]

OnEarth Day of April 2018, an "Earth Day Cleanup" event was launched, which rewarded players globally if sufficient players signed up to join cleanup events across 12 countries.^[189] Niantic reported over 4,200 players signing up with 6,600 kg of trash collected across 19 countries.^[190]

• Pokémon GO Events

• Pokémon video games
• Nintendo events
• Video game events

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