Developer Niantic reports that Pokémon GO players collectively caught over 1.5 billion Pokémon during the recent Pokémon GO Fest celebration event. The mobile augmented reality title launched back in 2016, allowing players to traverse the real world in order to find, battle, and capture digital Pokémon. Niantic continues releasing updates and events to engage Pokémon GO's large and loyal player base.
In honor of the game's five-year anniversary of release, as well as the 25th anniversary of the Pokémon franchise as a whole, the annual Pokémon GO Fest was particularly massive this year. Pokémon GO Fest 2021 featured a mix of in-person and virtual events, ensuring that fans were able to celebrate the occasion in whatever way they chose. Physical events were held in more than twenty major cities across Europe, the United States, and New Zealand, meaning players in those locations could disregard virtual tickets. Those who took part in Pokémon GO Fest 2021 digitally were able to buy digital tickets for the event, and the price of these tickets was reduced to only $5 after costing $15 in 2020.
This year's event was styled after a music festival, with many of the events and details being centered around music. Pokémon GO Fest 2021 festivities included new shiny Pokémon variants and a Mythical Pokémon appearance, allowing players to get their hands on rare and unique monsters for their collection. The Pokémon GO Team at Niantic has revealed a number of impressive records that players reached throughout the course of Pokémon GO Fest 2021. The statistics show that the game's player base caught a combined total of over 1.5 billion Pokémon during the two-day event. Other impressive accomplishments including pinning over 900 million PokéStops, completing over 23 million raids, and collectively walking over 125 million kilometers. The post also includes a run-down of the celebration's events and an acknowledgment of all the players who partook in Pokémon GO Fest 2021.
While Pokémon GO Fest 2021 has just ended, Niantic is already looking ahead to the game's next event. July 22 was meant to mark the beginning of Pokémon GO Air Adventures, an international event allowing players to catch rare Pokémon variants only available in certain regions. This tie-in was meant to be part of a larger air travel initiative from The Pokémon Company, but Niantic recently announced that Pokémon GO's Air Adventures event is being delayed until August 22. The cause for the event's delay has not been confirmed, but many assume that a rise in COVID-19 cases has led to the temporary shutdown.
Over five years, Pokémon GO has established and maintained a loyal player base of digital Pokémon trainers. The game emphasizes outdoor exploration and monster collection, and this has proven to be a seemingly perfect combination. With millions of players tuning in to celebrate the game's birthday, it's no surprise that Pokémon GO Fest 2021 resulted in the capture of more than 1.5 billion Pokémon.
Pokémon GO is available on iOS and Android.
Source: Niantic, Pokémon GO/Twitter