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Scopely, which purchased developer Niantic for $3.5 billion last year, said in a statement that Pokémon Go has sustained its status as a top 10 mobile game every year since launch with more than 1 trillion Pokémon caught to date. AppMagic data cited by Pocket Gamer Biz placed cumulative revenue from the Google Play and App Store at nearly $9.1 billion over the decade, a figure that excludes additional earnings from partnerships or the in-game web shop. The milestone arrives as the title continues to rank among the fifth highest-grossing mobile games of the past 10 years, Business of Apps figures show.
The anniversary was marked by an event in New York’s Times Square where more than 1,000 players took part in one of the largest in-person raids in the game’s history as they battled a giant Mewtwo, BBC News reported. Earlier in June, Pokémon GO Fest Chicago broke North American attendance records with 103,605 tickets sold and more than 717,000 unique active players recorded across the city during the three-day gathering. Organisers said participants engaged in exclusive gameplay, community celebrations and citywide exploration that produced over 107 million Pokémon caught in the greater Chicago area alone.
According to Scopely the game has hosted major live events in more than 60 countries and averaged more than 400,000 attendees annually since the first Go Fest in 2017. Players have collectively explored more than 100 billion kilometres while playing, a distance equivalent to roughly 334 round trips between the Earth and the Sun, the company estimated. BBC News noted that the augmented-reality title has been downloaded more than a billion times across iOS and Android devices with millions of users still logging on each day, a level of engagement that reflects what one outlet described as 10 years of Pokémon Go and the millions still trying to catch ’em all.
In an interview with BBC News, Twitch streamer j0beats compared attending large events to experiencing a music festival in person rather than listening from home, emphasising the energy derived from fellow players. She recalled collaborating with community ambassadors to help host the 2025 Wild Area event in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, which was the only European stop and close to her own location. The streamer added that while some view travelling solely to catch virtual creatures as unusual the gatherings foster lasting social connections beyond the gameplay.
Austin, a player based in Maine who began in 2017, told BBC News that prior to discovering the title severe anxiety and depression had made it nearly impossible for him to leave his bed or meet new people. He described his first raid meetup as feeling like a warm blanket that replaced nervousness with genuine excitement upon joining strangers in a park. Austin stated that from that day onward the internal voice urging him to remain isolated was effectively silenced, highlighting one of the unexpected mental health benefits reported by some long-term participants.
The game has encountered periodic hurdles including early server strain from overwhelming demand and official warnings from police and safety groups about the risks of distraction while walking or driving. Scopely vice president of product Michael Steranka told BBC News that strict COVID-19 lockdowns affected Pokémon Go more severely than many other titles because its core mechanic requires outdoor movement, though engagement rebounded once restrictions lifted. Business of Apps data placed 2024 revenue at $545 million following stronger prior years that peaked near $912 million in 2021.
Steranka said in the BBC News interview that Pokémon Go will always start with community and the company believes it is only scratching the surface of its potential. He noted that the studio frequently receives wedding invitations from players who first met through the game and has seen it become an integral part of many relationships. The executive added that the title meets people where they are at any phase of life while the focus remains on shared family experiences and creating lasting memories.
