Pokemon Go marked its 10th anniversary with a surprise live event in New York’s Times Square, bringing more than 1,000 players together for one of the largest in-person raids in the game’s history. The event saw trainers unite to take down the legendary Mega Mewtwo Y in a synchronised, real-world raid battle that was live streamed for fans watching around the world.
The celebration recreated a scene first teased in Pokemon Go’s original 2015 launch trailer, which imagined hundreds of people playing the game together and catching a Mewtwo in Times Square, a vision the game’s developers had never been able to fully realise at launch. Michael Steranka, Vice President of Product for Pokemon Go at current owner Scopely, said the project had been two and a half years in the making, describing the technical challenge of hosting more than 1,000 players in a single simultaneous raid instance as a considerable engineering achievement. Ed Wu, President of Games at Scopely, said the anniversary reflected how the game had grown from a simple invitation to explore the world into an experience that brings communities together across cities, countries, and cultures.
Screens across Times Square replayed the game’s original launch trailer before the battle began, with Mewtwo taking over the plaza’s digital displays and Pokemon Gyms ahead of its Mega Evolution into Mega Mewtwo Y. The raid was capped off by a surprise performance from dance music duo Loud Luxury following the battle. According to developer Niantic, which continues to operate the game’s underlying technology, Trainers have completed more than 10 billion raid battles worldwide since the game’s 2016 launch, with the Times Square event standing as one of the most ambitious single gatherings in the title’s history.
The anniversary celebrations continued into the weekend with Pokemon Go Fest 2026: Global, running from July 11 to July 12 and made entirely free for all players logging in during the event, a departure from previous years when the flagship event typically required a paid ticket. Every participant received access to exclusive Special Research leading to an encounter with the Mythical Pokemon Zeraora, along with increased Shiny Pokemon encounter rates and event specific gameplay bonuses. The event also marked the global debut of Mewtwo’s Mega Evolutions, with Mega Mewtwo X exclusively available in raids on July 11 and Mega Mewtwo Y taking over on July 12, following earlier in-person debuts of the Mega Evolutions at regional Go Fest events in Tokyo, Chicago, and Copenhagen earlier in the year.
The Times Square celebration was not without controversy, as invited attendees at the New York event received an exclusive guaranteed perfect stat Mewtwo with a unique Times Square background, a reward unavailable to players participating in the global weekend remotely. The decision drew criticism from segments of the player base who felt content creators and local Community Ambassadors had been given preferential access, though organisers noted that in-person attendance had been capped at around 2,000 people due to venue capacity constraints in Times Square. Despite the backlash over exclusive rewards, Pokemon Go Fest 2026: Global has drawn record attendance and engagement across multiple continents, with organisers reporting millions of players participating in the free event and further community celebrations taking place in cities around the world throughout the anniversary weekend.
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