NEW YORK CITY — Pokémon Go marked its 10th anniversary with an invitation-only in-person event on Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Times Square, New York City. Approximately 2,000 players participated in a special raid battle against Mega Mewtwo Y during the celebration.

Attendees at the Times Square event experienced a live EDM concert by Loud Luxury before the raid battle. Billboards in Times Square displayed an animation of Mega Mewtwo Y as the raid battle commenced. Players at the event defeated Mega Mewtwo Y. The anniversary event was livestreamed across Pokémon's websites and social media channels.

Michael Steranka, Vice President of Product at Scopely, stated, "When we first dreamt what Pokémon GO might become a decade ago, hosting more than a thousand people in a single, local raid battle was just a pipe dream." He added, "Seeing that vision become a reality in Times Square was the perfect way to celebrate 10 years of playing together with our community." Steranka noted, "We sort of made promises to players on the type of game that this was going to be," and said, "Now, 10 years later, when we look back at that trailer, we feel like we've actually delivered on a lot of the promises made there." Ed Wu, Games President at Scopely, commented, "What started as an invitation to explore the world around you has become something that brings players together across cities, countries, and cultures, from neighborhood meetups to celebrations that draw hundreds of thousands of people together." Wu added, "As we look ahead, our commitment remains unchanged: to keep evolving the game in ways that turn everyday places into opportunities for discovery and connection."

Pokémon Go launched in 2016, following its first trailer release in 2015. The game generated $1 billion in revenue in 2025 and had more than 100 million active players in 2024. Lifetime player spending on the game exceeds $6 billion, and players have walked over 62 billion miles. The game's community ambassador program has grown to more than 3,000 global ambassadors from 50 two years prior to 2026. Daily playtime for active players averages around 45 minutes, showing a 10 percent increase since 2025.

The first Pokémon Go Fest, held in Chicago in 2017, encountered network overloads and software issues. Following this, an offsite meeting took place in Seattle to address the problems. Steranka noted, "I also quickly discovered from this experience that the Pokémon Go team does not point fingers," adding, "Instead of trying to find someone to blame, everybody came together, and we spun up an offsite in Seattle to learn what went wrong and how to fix things." The 2026 global Pokémon Go Fest will feature additional Mega Mewtwo Y encounters. Invitations for the Times Square event were distributed through community ambassadors in New York City's five boroughs.