Pokémon Go, celebrating first birthday, will host real-world events

To celebrate the upcoming anniversary Pokémon Go—the location-based augmented reality game that basically took over the world last summer and was downloaded a whopping 750 million times—developer Niantic Labs has announced a series of both in-app and in-person events rolling out over the next couple of months.

On June 13th, Niantic will host an in-game event called the Solstice Event that will feature Fire-type and Ice-type Pokémon, XP bonuses for throwing Poké Balls accurately, and discounted Lucky Eggs. A new update focusing on “collaborative group gameplay” is also coming soon.

As for the IRL part, the first-ever real-world event will take place at Grant Park in Chicago on July 22. Pokémon Go Fest Chicago is billed as a celebration of the Pokémon Go community of “trainers”—who have already come out to their respective cities in droves and boosted civic engagement in the process—that will feature, according to the press release, “a ton of exciting activities.” Details are slim, but tickets go on sale on June 19. Events are also planned in Europe and in Yokohama, Japan, where a “Pikachu Outbreak” will take place in August.

Via: The Verge