Despite having encountered myriad problems in 2017, the game developer Niantic has now officially revealed its decision to implement the return of its Pokemon GO Fest this summer in Chicago, Illinois. According to an announcement on the popular mobile augmented reality game's website, this year's festivities will take place in Lincoln Park on July 14 and 15, and will include "a 1.8-mile walking course" that is intended to have "exclusive activities for Trainers of all ages."

Those who wish to be present for Pokemon GO Fest 2018 will be able to lock in their attendance soon enough, as Niantic is prepared to make single-day passes available on May 11, with the company selling them for $20 apiece. For those who can't make it to this year's celebration, much like with last year's event, Trainers not at the gathering will still have the opportunity to "engage in a variety of activities and challenges". This more than likely means that there will be in-game bonuses, as well as increased spawn rates around the world.

For the uninitiated, Pokemon GO Fest 2017 was the first instance of Niantic enacting an actual festival built around the game, and the event was supposed to celebrate the one year anniversary of the title's release while marking the launch of Legendary Raids. Unfortunately, though, the whole affair was ultimately chalked up as a complete failure due to poor cell service that made the game unplayable, incredibly long lines, and a slew of other technical difficulties that made the whole day a disaster for many. Eventually, players who attended ended up getting refunds and compensation for their tickets and accommodations, in addition to a free Lugia, and $100 in PokeCoins.

Taking all of this into account, one can only hope that Niantic has learned from the calamity that was Pokemon GO Fest 2017 and will be doing all it can to redeem itself from the mistakes made last year. Of course, considering the issues that occurred during the inaugural event, there's a high possibility that attendance will be lower this time around, as many will surely be skeptical of Pokemon GO Fest 2018 succeeding. Should Niantic want to boost ticket sales for this year, it will need to be a lot more specific with the details in the coming days other than providing the vague-sounding offer of “exclusive activities”.

Pokemon GO is available now for Android and iOS devices.

Source: Pokemon GO