'Pokémon GO' Anniversary Events: Real-World and In-Game Celebrations

By Denise See, Christian Post Contributor Saturday, June 10, 2017

"Pokémon GO" is almost a year old, and Niantic is making sure to celebrate the milestone in the grandest way possible.

Fans of "Pokémon GO" can look forward to exciting treats over the course of the next months, with both in-game and real-world events in store, an announcement from Niantic revealed. In addition to the first anniversary of the augmented-reality mobile game, the game's developer is also celebrating 750 million global downloads.

The celebration will commence on June 13, with an in-game Solstice Event for "Pokémon GO" players everywhere. The event will see both Fire-type and Ice-type Pokémon at the forefront. Players will also earn massive XP bonuses when they accurately throw Poké Balls. Furthermore, Lucky Eggs will be on sale at a discounted price.

Not long after the Solstice Event, Niantic will also release a new update that will add an exciting new aspect to gameplay. This feature will deal with "collaborative group gameplay," though the announcement did not go into further detail on the specifics.

Niantic also revealed that Gym functions will be temporarily unavailable leading up to these exciting treats. The company did not indicate an exact date or time, though.

As for the real-world events, the first one will be held at Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois. Titled "Pokémon GO Fest Chicago," the event will take place on July 22. It remains to be seen what the fun-filled day will consist of. Tickets will go on sale on June 19.

Celebrations will also be held outside of the United States. In Europe, "Pokémon GO" events will pop up throughout the continent from June to September. The European leg of the celebration will be done in partnership with Unibail-Rodamco shopping centers.

In Japan, an event called "Pikachu Outbreak" will be held by The Pokémon Company. The celebration will take place specifically in Yokohama in August.

Niantic promised to announce more events, though they did not hint at or reveal anything about Legendary Pokémon, which are expected to arrive in the summer.