In 2016, Niantic launched the augmented reality mobile game Pokemon GO. And while many expected Pokemon GO to be a success, few could have guessed that it would explode in popularity, becoming a dominant worldwide phenomenon in the process. Pokemon GO remains one of the most popular mobile games in the world still to this day, with developer Niantic releasing updates for it on a regular basis to keep the community engaged.
One way that Niantic looked to keep fans interested in Pokemon GO was through the introduction of in-person live events. Sometimes these are smaller-scale Safari Zone events, but once a year, the company hosts a huge GO Fest event. Pokemon GO Fest 2020 just recently concluded, and so we thought it would be interesting to take a look back at what each GO Fest event brought to the table.
Here's a short history of the Pokemon GO Fests so far.
2017
One year after Pokemon GO became a worldwide phenomenon, Niantic announced plans to host a special live event in the form of the very first Pokemon GO Fest. Pokemon GO Fest 2017 proved to be an extremely popular idea among fans of the augmented reality mobile game, with tickets selling out fast and around 20,000 players attending the event in Chicago, Illinois. The first Pokemon GO Fest event, like subsequent events, featured community goals where players all over the world could work together to unlock rewards, in addition to special content exclusive to GO Fest attendees.
Unfortunately, Pokemon GO Fest 2017 was marred by serious technical issues, somewhat mirroring the problems that the Pokemon GO game itself had at launch. This resulted in some severe backlash from fans who were at the event, and saw Niantic issue refunds. A class-action lawsuit was even filed against the company.
On the bright side, Pokemon GO Fest 2017 did see the introduction of legendary Pokemon to Pokemon GO and raid battles, which have become one of the game's most popular features. So while there were some major issues that kept Pokemon GO Fest 2017 from reaching its full potential, there's no understating its importance to Pokemon GO as a whole.
2018
In 2018, Niantic decided to host the second annual Pokemon GO Fest, returning to Chicago and once again selling out of tickets. The 2018 Pokemon GO Fest was largely free of the technical issues that plagued the inaugural event in 2017. It introduced a brand new Special Research quest for players to complete in order to catch the Johto region's mythical Pokemon Celebi. Celebi Special Research was later added to the general Pokemon GO game so even those who didn't attend Pokemon GO Fest 2018 were able to add it to their collection, though they had to wait a bit longer than those who traveled to Chicago.
2019
For the third Pokemon GO Fest, Niantic decided to mix things up. Instead of just hosting the event in Chicago, the company spread Pokemon GO Fest across the world. One event took place in Chicago, another in Dortmund, and the third in Yokohama. Like usual, tickets for the event sold out quickly, and thousands of Pokemon GO fans across the world made an effort to attend the events live in-person.
2020
Pokemon GO Fest once again went through a major change with the 2020 event. As the world grapples with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Niantic made the decision to avoid hosting an in-person event for Pokemon GO Fest 2020, instead opting to host it digitally instead. While some may feel as though this defeats the purpose of Pokemon GO, it allowed anyone able to purchase a digital GO Fest ticket to participate in the festivities, and it will definitely be interesting to see if Niantic sticks to this format moving forward.
In any case, Pokemon GO Fest 2020 had some of the worst technical problems since the original GO Fest, with some players reporting that their Remote Raid Passes were lost due to freezing and other glitches. Despite these problems, the event was otherwise seen as a success, with Pokemon GO players able to add the mythical Pokemon Victini to their collection by completing some brand new Pokemon GO Fest-themed Special Research.
Pokemon GO Fest 2020 also saw players attacked by Team Rocket, giving them the chance to take on Team Rocket leaders and even the head of the villainous organization himself, Giovanni. This in turn gave Pokemon GO players the chance to add some legendary Shadow Pokemon to their collection, like Shadow Mewtwo, for instance.
Future GO Fests
It's possible Niantic will revert to Pokemon GO Fest only being for those who can actually attend the event in person, but it's also possible that the company will stick to the all-digital format. After all, Niantic has indicated that it plans on keeping the Pokemon GO quality of life improvements that have come about due to the coronavirus pandemic, as it has actually seen an increase in revenue from the game.
Pokemon GO Fests typically see some big new addition to the Pokemon GO experience, so one has to wonder what next year's event has in store. Perhaps the mega evolution Pokemon will finally be added to the game, or maybe Niantic will use next year's event to raise the level cap. Time will tell, but one can count on Pokemon GO Fest 2021 taking place at some point next July.
Pokemon GO is out now for iOS and Android mobile devices.