A decade later, Pokémon Go finally made good on its original promise

At Pokémon Go’s 10th anniversary event in New York City, nearly 2,000 players gathered in Times Square for a special battle featuring Mewtwo. The spectacle recreated the kind of large-scale cooperative AR moment first imagined in the game’s original 2015 trailer.

The event shows how location-based gaming can still create cultural moments when paired with live spectacle, influencers, and dense urban spaces. It also suggests Niantic is leaning into community-driven events as a way to keep an aging mobile hit relevant.