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Pokémon GO Game Details 1st Anniversary Events

posted on by Crystalyn Hodgkins
Niantic hosts event in Chicago on July 22, in Europe from June-September

Game developer Niantic revealed details on Wednesday for its one-year anniversary plans for the Pokémon GO smartphone game. The upcoming events and plans also celebrate 750 million global downloads for the game.

Niantic is hosting an in-game Solstice Event starting on June 13 that will feature Fire-type and Ice-type Pokémon, XP bonuses for accurate throws of Poké Balls, and discounted Lucky Eggs in the game's shop.

Niantic will then launch an update "soon after" that will be "focused on collaborative group gameplay features." Niantic will be disabling Gyms for "a short period of time" to prepare for the two events.

Niantic will host its first real-world Pokémon GO event, Pokémon GO Fest Chicago, on July 22 at Grant Park. Tickets for the event go on sale on June 19. Niantic added that it will also host Pokémon GO events throughout Europe from June through September in partnership with Unibail-Rodamco shopping centers.

The Pokémon Company is also organizing the "Pikachu Outbreak" event for the Pokémon franchise in Yokohama in August. Similar events were held in Yokohama in 2015 and 2016.

Niantic had announced in May that it is partnering with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to host community events for its games in public spaces in the United States. The events involve temporarily closing off car traffic on certain city streets, and opening them for pedestrian and bicycle traffic to promote interaction, dancing, playing, and other events. The events will take players on a predetermined tour route through the area, and will include in-game events along the way, such as PokéStops and Gyms. The companies had hosted a trial event in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 7.

Pokémon Go app launched in select countries including the United States on July 6, and has since launched in more than 50 countries.

[Via VG24/7]


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