Pokémon GO celebrates 10-year anniversary with massive Times Square raid

On July 9‑10, 2026, Pokémon GO marked its 10‑year anniversary with a surprise live event in New York’s Times Square. Over 1,000 (nearly 2,000) trainers gathered for a Unity Raid that pitted them against the legendary Mega Mewtwo Y, the raid’s defeat was streamed worldwide and accompanied by an EDM concert from Loud Luxury. The event, organized by Scopely Explore (formerly Niantic), required a year of coordination with city authorities and new technology to host more than a thousand simultaneous players.

The celebration continues with a global Pokémon GO Fest 2026 weekend, offering special in‑game rewards and a free virtual raid for all players. Since its 2016 launch, Pokémon GO has attracted over 800 million players, generated $1 billion in annual revenue, and logged more than 1 trillion Pokémon caught. The game’s lifetime player spending exceeds $6 billion. Community reaction includes criticism that exclusive perfect‑IV Mewtwo rewards were given only to influencers, sparking debate over fairness.

The Times Square raid fulfilled a promise from the original 2015 trailer, demonstrating the game’s enduring “real‑world adventure” model and setting the stage for future “core memory” events the company plans to deliver over the next decade.