Pokémon GO Celebrating Fifth Anniversary of Launch With Special In-App Events - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Pokémon GO Celebrating Fifth Anniversary of Launch With Special In-App Events

by

Today marks the fifth anniversary of Pokémon GO launching on iPhone, allowing people to get out in the world and catch Pokémon using augmented reality, and developer Niantic is celebrating with several in-app events over the next week and a bit.

pokemon go five
Between Tuesday, July 6 at 10:00 a.m. and Thursday, July 15 at 8:00 p.m. local time, players will have the chance to capture a Flying Pikachu with a 5-shaped balloon in the wild, and Darumaka will also be appearing more frequently. Fireworks will also be returning to the Pokémon GO map in celebration of the fifth anniversary of the game.

Niantic outlined the complete in-game events and bonuses that will be available during the celebration week in a blog post. Players are advised to be aware of their surroundings and follow guidelines from local health authorities when playing Pokémon GO.

Pokémon GO has received several major updates over the last five years, including an improved AR+ experience, Raid Battles, Field Research, and more. The game can be downloaded for free on the App Store, with PokéCoins and other in-app purchases available.

Tags: Pokemon, Pokémon GO

Popular Stories

iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Get Two New Perks on iOS 27

Thursday July 2, 2026 6:10 am PDT by
If you pay for certain iCloud+ storage plans beyond the 5GB that Apple offers for free, you will receive two more perks on iOS 27 at no additional cost. A summary of the two new iCloud+ perks on iOS 27:Increased daily usage limits for some new Apple Intelligence features, including image generation in the revamped Image Playground app. HomeKit Secure Video cameras receive generated video...
Read Full Article • 50 comments
American Express Gold Apple Pay Feature

American Express Announces New Apple Pay Feature

Tuesday June 30, 2026 10:27 am PDT by
American Express today announced that you can now redeem Membership Rewards points when checking out with Apple Pay on the web and in apps on the iPhone and iPad. When checking out with Apple Pay on iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later, tap on your eligible American Express card (Platinum, Gold, Green, and others) and select the Membership Rewards points option. You can use points to cover all or...
Read Full Article • 15 comments
series 10 apple watch titanium digital crown

Report: Apple Watch Redesign Coming Next Year With New Band System

Tuesday June 30, 2026 8:45 am PDT by
A "major overhaul" of the Apple Watch's design is due to arrive next year with a new system for connecting bands, according to a known Weibo leaker. In a set of recent posts, the leaker known as "Instant Digital" linked the new claim to older rumors about an "Apple Watch X" model, which was said to introduce a fresh design and break compatibility with the existing watch band system. Citing...
Read Full Article • 188 comments

Top Rated Comments

R
rjp1
65 months ago

Do people still play this?
Over 150 million users and $1 billion in revenue last year - take a guess.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
I
iBungie
65 months ago

Do people still play this?
Yes, I do. Nearing Level 42 and don't make in app purchases. Gets me out walking.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JGIGS Avatar
JGIGS
65 months ago

Registered users are not active users and the billion comes from the same 10 people still playing this game.
A billion is coming from 10 people? I guess Gates, Cook, Zuck and Bezos are among them?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Michael Scrip Avatar
Michael Scrip
65 months ago

Registered users are not active users and the billion comes from the same 10 people still playing this game.
A billion dollars is still a billion dollars, no?

:p
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
marty1980 Avatar
marty1980
65 months ago
i am in multiple chats for Pokémon Go players, locally. Tons of players have been there since day 1, including me. My primary group is about 700 active players.

Changing jobs (before the pandemic) reduced my time greatly because my new job was not anywhere near anything useful in PoGo. Remote raids helped me a lot when they were introduced.

I play a little each day to complete tasks and get my daily sticker. I don’t spend a lot of money, but I will spend $10 here or there. Mostly to get incubators.

I’ve missed out on more recent legendary and unique Pokémon and I’ve never done Go Fest. I enjoy the game. Lots of people were playing went I went downtown on Saturday with my kids. We were doing other stuff, but I still got my shiny tepig and evolved it before community day was over.

They aren’t charging for the 5-year event. It’s just a flying pikachu, a Darumaka, and some other stuff that everybody can get.

People have always been haters towards this game. I don’t care. I enjoy it and so do many people in my community.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Am3r1ca16 Avatar
Am3r1ca16
65 months ago

Do people still play this?
pEoPle sTiLL pLAy tHiS?

I live in NYC and there are huge discord community where people can connect with other pogo players. If you ever head to Byrant park/central park you'd be lying if you couldn't spot a pogo player.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Read All Comments