Pokémon GO was one of the largest and most important Augmented Reality games when it launched and entered the stratosphere in 2016.

Callum Berry.

The game, developed by Niantic in partnership with the Pokémon Company and Nintendo was essentially the first of its kind — an AR game that also included GPS and location data systems to have players engage with their local environment to capture wild Pokémon and defend Pokémon gyms local to your real-life neighbourhood.

It was crazy when it was new, especially with millennials like myself; nights spend driving around looking for rare Pokémon, people could be seen wandering around in the dark in packs — we mostly stayed in our car and slowly drove around, when I think about it, it’s pretty suspicious behaviour!

The impact of Pokémon GO was immediate, and from my perspective it impacted two elements of life right away; exercise and socialising. Suddenly people were walking instead of driving, getting outside even if they normally wouldn’t want to, because there were Pokémon to catch! And you had to catch them all, which meant you had to go outside, and you had to leave your immediate vicinity sometimes. So naturally, you’d go and hang out with your friends and see what kind of Pokémon were in their neighbourhood.

I spent so much time with my friends late at night doing nothing but stare at my phone and listen to the car radio, but it was great because it was a shared social experience that was truly novel, and still is novel really.

We now find ourselves 10 years down the line and Pokémon GO has made over 6 billion dollars in revenue, which is a testament not only to the addicting power of good video-games, but also to the power of social bonds and having a product that naturally creates engaging shared experiences for friends and families.

This 10 year milestone is being celebrated by Niantic with a special in-game event period where players can expect some of the following:

• Pokémon Debut:
  • A new costumed Pokémon from Golden Lure Modules or Coin Bags.
• Event Bonuses:
  • 4x XP for catching Pokémon.
  • 4x Stardust for catching Pokémon.
  • Event-themed Pokémon appearing in the wild are more likely to be Shiny.
  • Gimmighoul holding a 10th anniversary coin may have a special background, and when using a Coin Bag a special Gimmighoul may appear!
• Wild Encounters:
  • Players may encounter event-themed Pokémon in the wild, including Pikachu wearing a cake hat, Eevee wearing a party hat, Wurmple wearing a party hat, and more!
• Paid Time Research:
  • For $US 1.99 (or local equivalent ), players will be able to access event-exclusive Timed Research
• Pokémon GO Web Store:
  • A special bundle will be available on the Pokémon GO Web Store for $US 1.99 (or local equivalent).
• Featured Attacks:
  • Venusaur: Evolve Ivysaur (Bulbasaur’s Evolution) to get a Venusaur that knows the Charged Attack Frenzy Plant.
  • Charizard: Evolve Charmeleon (Charmander’s Evolution) to get a Charizard that knows the Charged Attack Blast Burn.
  • Blastoise
    Evolve Wartortle (Squirtle’s Evolution) to get a Blastoise that knows the Charged Attack Hydro Cannon.
• Field Research Task Rewards:
  • Event-themed Field Research tasks will be available.
  • Complete Field Research tasks to earn encounters with event-themed Pokemon.
• New Avatar Item: A brand new cosmetic item for player avatars will be available.
• Stickers: You’ll be able to get event-themed stickers by spinning PokéStops, opening Gifts, and purchasing them from the in-game shop.

The 10th Anniversary Party will be available from:

Saturday, July 4, at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, July 6, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. local time

For detailed information please visit the official event page.

Good luck out there Trainers!

Callum Berry.