Pokémon Go
2016 mobile game
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| 2025 | Several pandemic-era gameplay adjustments remain permanent, including Remote Raid Battles, extended Incense duration, and Adventure Sync functionality. |
| May 29 2025 | Acquisition of Niantic's game division by Scopely is completed after regulatory approval, resulting in the layoff of 68 employees at Niantic's San Francisco headquarters. |
| March 2025 |
The game was acquired by Scopely, a Saudi Arabia-backed investment firm, as part of Saudi Arabia's gaming industry and economic diversification strategy.
Scopely to acquire Niantic games business, which includes “Pokémon GO,” one of the most successful mobile games of all time
www.scopely.com
Hot Five: Scopely acquires Pokémon Go and more for $3.5bn, Wuthering Waves hits $250m on mobile, and Sonic Rumble’s reasons for delay | PocketGamer.biz
www.pocketgamer.biz
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| March 12 2025 | Niantic announces the sale of its video-game division, including Pokémon Go, to mobile publisher Scopely for $3.5 billion. The deal includes Pokémon Go, Pikmin Bloom, Monster Hunter Now, and companion apps Campfire and Wayfarer. |
| 2024 | Pokémon GO was again featured in the World Championships, maintaining its status as a competitive esports title. |
| October 2024 | Pokémon Go launched Gigantamax Battles, an expanded version of Dynamax Battles that allows up to 40 players to participate in a single battle, with specific Pokémon capable of Gigantamax transformation. |
| October 12 2024 | Pokémon Go introduced in Saudi Arabia, marking another milestone in the game's international expansion. |
| September 2024 | Pokémon Go introduced Dynamax Battles and Dynamax Pokémon, a new battle mechanic originating from Pokémon Sword and Shield, where up to 4 players can battle a Dynamax Pokémon using special currency called 'MP' and unique battle strategies. |
| April 2024 | Pokémon GO was updated to allow greater avatar customization, including new hair styles, body size adjustments, and expanded skin color options. The update was controversial, with players criticizing the new avatar models' graphical quality and compatibility issues with existing cosmetic items. |
| 2023 | Pokémon GO continued to be part of the World Championships for the second consecutive year. |
| July 14 2023 | Pokémon Go Plus + was released as the successor to the original Pokémon Go Plus, featuring enhanced capabilities including automatic Pokémon catching, PokéStop interaction, and sleep tracking for use with Pokémon Sleep. |
| May 2023 | Introduced 'Shadow Raids', a new raid type that can only be battled in person and offers the chance to catch a Shadow Pokémon, with a unique 'enraged' mechanic that can be countered using a 'Purified Gem'. |
| 2022 | Pokémon GO was included in the World Championships, with the top two players from the Go Championship Series qualifying to compete. |
| October 2022 | Introduced 'Elite Raids', a new type of raid battle that can only be battled in person, takes 24 hours to start, and requires a large number of players to defeat. |
| May 2022 | Raid Battles updated to include 6-star Mega Legendary Pokémon, specifically Mega Latios and Mega Latias. |
| 2021 | Nominated for Favorite Video Game at the Kids' Choice Awards. |
| October 2021 | Pokémon GO was announced as an official competitive game for the 2022 World Championships, with a qualification system through the Go Battle League established. |
| August 2021 | Players began boycotting Pokémon Go in response to Niantic's removal of pandemic bonuses. |
| August 2021 | The #HearUsNiantic hashtag trended worldwide on Twitter, with fans and players expressing criticism of Niantic's decision to remove pandemic-related game modifications. |
| August 2021 | Players began boycotting Pokémon Go in response to Niantic removing pandemic-era safety bonuses, including reduced interaction distances at gyms and PokéStops. |
| August 26 2021 | Niantic reinstated the expanded PokéStop and Gym interaction distance of 80 meters as a permanent baseline feature. |
| August 26 2021 | PokéStop and Gym interaction distance was permanently reinstated at 80 meters, reverting the temporary pandemic-era changes. |
| August 1 2021 | Niantic began rolling back COVID-19 pandemic changes in Pokémon Go, starting with players in New Zealand and the United States, gradually implementing post-pandemic modifications worldwide. |
| July 2021 | A Pokémon Go Gym located at Bagram Airforce Base was abandoned following the U.S. forces' withdrawal. |
| June 3 2021 | Pokémon Go officially released in Turkey, further expanding the game's regional reach. |
| 2020 | Niantic made major gameplay changes in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including indoor step tracking, long-distance PVP battles, increased incense effectiveness, increased spawn points, and doubled player interaction radius. |
| 2020 | Grossed more than a significant amount in revenue by 2020. |
| August 2020 | Level 3 Mega raids were introduced with the addition of Mega Evolution, and raid levels were restructured, combining Level 2 and 4 raids into Level 1 and 3 raids. |
| August 2020 | Mega Evolution was introduced to Pokémon Go, initially with four Pokémon able to Mega Evolve into five forms, which later expanded to include 40 forms. |
| March 2020 | Niantic implemented a daily gift interaction cap of 30 opened gifts during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| March 2020 | Daily gift interaction cap of 30 opened gifts was instituted during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| January 2020 | Niantic launched the Go Battle League, an online battle format enabling worldwide player combat without physical proximity requirements. |
| 2019 | Nominated for EE Mobile Game of the Year at the 15th British Academy Games Awards. |
| 2019 | Nominated for Most Evolved Game at the SXSW Gaming Awards. |
| 2019 | Niantic began allowing Pokémon Go players to submit locations for PokéStops and Gyms, with submissions primarily reviewed by other players. |
| 2019 | Surpassed one billion global downloads by early 2019. |
| November 2019 | An official line of Pokémon Go merchandise was released. |
| September 2019 | Unova region Pokémon and the Unova Stone item were simultaneously released. |
| July 2019 | Pokémon Go introduced Team GO Rocket battles, allowing players to battle Team GO Rocket NPCs at special PokéStops and in Team GO Rocket Balloons. These battles provide an opportunity to capture 'Shadow Pokémon', which have increased attack power but reduced defense. |
| May 2019 | Pokémon Go released on the Samsung Galaxy Store. |
| 2018 | Won Fan Favorite Mobile Game at the Gamers' Choice Awards. |
| 2018 | Nominated for Still Playing Award at the Golden Joystick Awards. |
| 2018 | IGN named Pokémon Go the 100th best video game of all time, recognizing its significant impact on mobile gaming and social interaction. |
| December 2018 | Niantic introduced player vs player Trainer Battles to Pokémon Go, allowing direct combat between players. |
| November 2018 | Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! were released on Nintendo Switch, featuring Pokémon Go-style catching and game integration. |
| October 26 2018 | Niantic announced research tasks for Bug type Pokémon, giving players a chance to catch Shedinja throughout November. |
| October 25 2018 | Adventure Sync feature was announced, which records player walking data in the background. |
| October 12 2018 | Niantic teased one of the Generation IV Pokémon coming to Pokémon Go. |
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia article Pokémon Go, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.