Pokémon GO launched last year on July 6 and since then has gone on to become one of the most successful mobile games of all time, having been downloaded over 750 million times since its release. With its one-year anniversary coming up, Niantic, the developer behind the game, has announced some upcoming events to celebrate.
To celebrate, Niantic has prepared an in-game event as well as a real-world event. The in-game event, called the Solstice Event, will start next week on June 13. During this event, Fire-type and Ice-type Pokémon will get increased spawn rates. Additionally, Lucky Eggs will be offered at a discounted price in the game’s in-game store and players will get more XP than usual for “throwing Poké Balls accurately,” which I assume means throwing Poké Balls right in the circle that appears when trying to catch a Pokémon.
Niantic states that shortly after the Solstice Event starts, new mechanics will be introduced into the game that will be “focused on collaborative group gameplay.” Could this be the player-to-player trades and battles players have been asking for since the game’s inception? Niantic also explains that, in preparation of these new mechanics, Gyms will be temporarily disabled.
The real-world event will be called Pokémon GO Fest Chicago and, as you could probably guess from the name, will take place in Chicago, Illinois, specifically at Chicago’s Grant Park on July 22. Not much is said about this event except that it will have “a ton of exciting festivities.” Tickets for this event will go on sale at http://www.pokemongolive.com/Fest on June 19 at 10:00AM PST. Niantic also mentions that similar events will take place across Europe between June and September.