Pokémon Go (stylized as Pokémon GO) is a 2016 mobile game that uses augmented reality (AR) technology. It was created by Niantic and developed with help from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. The game works on iOS and Android devices. Players use GPS to find, catch, train, and battle Pokémon. The game is free to play, but it also allows users to buy extra items inside the game. When it first came out, the game had about 150 types of Pokémon, and more were added later.
At first, some critics said the game had problems with its technology, but many people found it fun. Despite these issues, Pokémon Go became one of the most popular and profitable apps in 2016. It was downloaded more than 500 million times worldwide. The game helped make location-based and AR technology more well-known. It also encouraged people to be more active and to interact with others. However, some people were worried about accidents and disruptions caused by the game. Some governments added rules about how it could be used. By May 2018, the game had more than 147 million users each month. By early 2019, it had been downloaded over 1 billion times. By 2020, the game had made more than 6 billion dollars. It is often listed as one of the best mobile games ever made.
In 2025, a company called Scopely bought Pokémon Go as part of a deal to purchase Niantic's gaming division for 3.5 billion dollars.
Gameplay
Players can change the look of their avatars after creating an account, or choose to keep the default avatar. Avatars appear on the game map based on the player's real-world GPS location. The map includes "PokéStops" and "Pokémon Gyms." Players can place "Lure Modules" on PokéStops to attract wild Pokémon, including rare ones. Gyms are places where players battle in team-based matches. These locations are often found at interesting places and were originally based on Ingress portals. Some Gyms and PokéStops are in unusual places, like the Korean Demilitarized Zone and the abandoned Bagram Air Force Base. Since 2019, players can also suggest new locations, which are reviewed by others before being added.
Avatars move on the map to match the player's real-world movement as they explore. Different Pokémon appear in different areas worldwide, with Water-type Pokémon often found near water. When players see a Pokémon, they can view it on a live background or in augmented reality (AR) mode. AR mode uses the phone's camera and gyroscope to show Pokémon as if they are in the real world. Players can take screenshots, called "Snapshots," of Pokémon, even if AR is not used.
The game is free to play but offers items like Incense, Lure Modules, and Lucky Eggs for purchase. These items can be bought with PokéCoins or real money. Incense attracts Pokémon for 60 minutes, Lure Modules attract Pokémon to a PokéStop for 30 minutes, and Lucky Eggs double experience points for 30 minutes. Pokémon have Combat Power (CP), which shows their battle strength. Higher CP Pokémon are harder to catch as players level up. The "Appraisal" feature helps players assess their Pokémon's strength.
Players can change their avatars' clothing using seasonal, level-based, or event-related items. Clothing includes hats, accessories, tops, bottoms, socks, shoes, and bags. Many items reference specific Pokémon, teams, or regions. Most clothing is free, but some can be bought with Coins. Coins can be earned through events, leveling up, or completing tasks.
Players can also choose different poses for their avatars. Poses can be earned for free, purchased, or received as rewards. Some poses are only available during specific events and may not return after the event ends.
In April 2024, Pokémon Go added new customization options, like hairstyles, body size adjustments, and more skin tones. However, some players were upset because the new avatars had lower-quality graphics and affected previously purchased items.
In Pokémon Go, players do not battle wild Pokémon to catch them. Instead, they throw a Poké Ball upward on the screen. Success depends on the Pokémon's catch rate, timing, and the type of Poké Ball used. Capturing a Pokémon gives Candy and Stardust. Candy is used to level up or evolve Pokémon, while Stardust increases a Pokémon's CP. Each evolution line uses its own type of Candy. The maximum player level was 40 until 2020, then raised to 50, and later to 80 in 2025. Players can transfer Pokémon to get more Candy and free up space. Shiny Pokémon can be found through events or chance encounters. Many players aim to complete the Pokédex by catching and evolving all Pokémon.
In September 2016, Niantic added the "Buddy Pokémon" feature, letting players choose a Pokémon to accompany them and earn rewards. Each Pokémon requires a specific walking distance to earn Candy. Niantic also blocked players with rooted or jailbroken devices to prevent cheating.
In January 2018, the first Community Day event was launched, increasing the spawn rate of a selected Pokémon and giving an exclusive attack to its evolved form. Players had a better chance of finding the Shiny version of the featured Pokémon. The first Community Day focused on Pikachu, which could learn the move "Surf" when evolved into Raichu.
As of February 27, 2026, the game includes 946 Pokémon, including regional variants, out of 1,025 in the franchise. New Pokémon are regularly added.
Regional Pokémon are often released together, like Unova region Pokémon and the Unova Stone item in September 2019.
During events or quests, Mythical and Legendary Pokémon are sometimes released. Groudon was the first Legendary Pokémon added in December 2017. Meltan and Melmetal are the only Mythical Pokémon in the game, introduced alongside Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! on the Nintendo Switch. Meltan was first available through a "Mystery Box" obtained by completing tasks or transferring Pokémon.
In August 2020, Mega Evolution was added, allowing four Pokémon to evolve into five forms. The feature now includes 40 forms.
Players earn experience points (XP) by doing in-game activities. XP helps them level up, unlocking new features. At level five, players can join a team (Team Valor, Team Mystic, or Team Instinct) and battle at Gyms.
In June 2017, Niantic changed Gym mechanics to encourage teamwork. Gyms were temporarily disabled and later updated to include a spinnable PokéStop for collecting items. Each Gym can hold up to six unique Pokémon, and coins earned depend on how long defending Pokémon stay in the Gym. Legendary, Mythical, and Buddy Pokémon cannot be placed in Gyms.
In July 2017, Raid Battles were introduced, letting players team up to fight over-leveled Pokémon in Gyms. If defeated, players can catch a regular version of the Pokémon. Raid difficulty ranges from…
Development
The idea for Pokémon Go began in 2014 when Satoru Iwata of Nintendo and Tsunekazu Ishihara of The Pokémon Company worked together with Google on a project called the Google Maps: Pokémon Challenge. This was originally planned as an April Fools' Day joke. Ishihara, who liked a game called Ingress made by Niantic, thought the idea could work well with the Pokémon series. Niantic, which was part of Google at the time, used data from Ingress to create places in the game called PokéStops and Gyms. They also used Google Maps to decide where Pokémon would appear and added maps from OpenStreetMap in December 2017. The game’s system is based on a program called Kubernetes, which had problems handling the large number of players but was later improved. In 2015, Niantic became its own company after Google changed its structure to Alphabet Inc.
In 2015, Ishihara honored Iwata during a speech at the game’s announcement on September 10, one month after Iwata passed away. Tatsuo Nomura, who worked on the Google Maps Pokémon Challenge before joining Niantic in 2015, became the game’s director and manager. The music for the game was created by Junichi Masuda, a long-time composer for the Pokémon series. Dennis Hwang, who designed the Gmail logo while at Google, helped create the game’s graphics.
On March 4, 2016, Niantic announced a test version of the game in Japan that started later that month. Players helped improve the game before it was released publicly. The test was later expanded to other countries, including Australia and New Zealand in April 2016. In May 2016, players in the United States could sign up for the test, which ended on June 30, 2016.
At the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, John Hanke, who started Niantic, introduced the three team leaders in the game: Candela (Team Valor), Blanche (Team Mystic), and Spark (Team Instinct). Hanke said only about 10% of the game’s ideas had been used. Future updates included features like trading Pokémon, new Pokémon, Pokémon Centers at PokéStops, fixes for a glitch, and easier training. Niantic promised to support the game for many years. In September 2016, Hanke said player-versus-player battles would be added later. In December 2016, Starbucks and Sprint partnered with Nintendo to add PokéStops and Gyms at some locations in the United States. An Apple Watch app was also released that month, letting users see nearby Pokémon. In January 2017, 5,000 more Starbucks locations became Gyms. In February 2017, an update added 100 new Pokémon from the Johto region, along with new items, game mechanics, and clothing choices for player avatars. Pokémon from the games Ruby and Sapphire were added later in 2017, and a weather system that affects Pokémon appearances was introduced. In November 2018, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! were released for the Nintendo Switch, with features that connected to Pokémon Go. A new Pokémon called Meltan was added to Pokémon Go in September 2018. Plans to include Pokémon from the games Diamond and Pearl were announced in October 2018, along with a feature called Adventure Sync, which tracks walking data in the background. Research tasks for Bug-type Pokémon, which could help players catch Shedinja, were also announced.
In January 2019, John Hanke told Business Insider that in 2018, Pokémon Go became the game Niantic had originally planned.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Niantic made changes to help players who could not leave their homes. These changes included tracking steps indoors for challenges, allowing long-distance battles between players, improving effects from items called Incense, increasing the number of places where Pokémon appear, and doubling the distance players could interact with others.
In May 2025, Scopely bought some of Niantic’s games, including Pokémon Go, while other games like Ingress and Peridot were separated into their own projects.
The Pokémon Go Plus is a small device that connects to a player’s phone using Bluetooth. It lets players catch Pokémon or collect items at PokéStops without looking at their phone. The device vibrates when a Pokémon or PokéStop is nearby, and players press a button to interact. Players only see what they collected when they open the game app on their phone. The device looks like a Poké Ball and a Google Maps pin. Niantic chose to make this device instead of a smartwatch app to make it more affordable for players who cannot buy smartwatches. It was released in the United Kingdom and North America on September 16, 2016. In July 2023, a newer version called the Pokémon Go Plus + was released. This version can automatically catch Pokémon and interact with PokéStops, and it also tracks sleep for use with the game Pokémon Sleep.
Release
The official launch of the game happened on July 6, 2016, in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States. Because of problems with the servers at the start, Niantic's CEO, John Hanke, said that releases in other areas would be paused until the issues were fixed. Japan's release was originally planned for July 20, but it was delayed because a sponsorship deal with McDonald's was leaked. The game was finally released two days later. France's release was planned for July 15, but it was moved to July 24 after a terrorist attack in Nice on July 14. Third-party apps and websites were closed in late July, which helped reduce server problems and allowed Niantic to continue global releases. Central and South America, as well as parts of Southeast Asia, received the game in early August. Indonesia was the first Asian country to have the game working, even though the official release there was on August 6.
In South Korea, Pokémon Go was not officially released because of rules about online maps. However, a mistake allowed the game to work in a small area near Sokcho, a city in the northeast of the country, which was mistakenly mapped as part of North Korea. This caused many players to go there. Tickets for buses from Seoul to Sokcho sold out, and locals helped tourists find free Wi-Fi. Players even found a Gym near the Korean Demilitarized Zone, but Niantic later removed it. After the game was released in Japan, parts of Busan became playable because they were mapped as part of Japan due to Tsushima Island's location. Pokémon Go officially launched in South Korea in January 2017.
In mainland China, Google services are blocked by the Great Firewall, and the GPS feature in Pokémon Go is also blocked by Niantic. Players in China must use App Store IDs from other regions and use special tools called VPNs to access Google services needed for the game. Some players use apps that trick the GPS to bypass restrictions. Others used a copy of the game called City Spirit Go, which appeared after Pokémon Go's test in Japan. As of 2020, the official game was still not playable in many parts of China because of GPS restrictions.
After the game was released on August 6, 2016, in Taiwan, it became very popular quickly. The many cities in Taiwan made it easy for the game's location-based features to work, drawing large groups of players in cities like Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. A man named Chen Ching-Po, also known as "Uncle Pokémon," became famous for attaching 72 smartphones with over 20 Pokémon Go accounts to his bicycle.
In August 2016, when the game was launched in Southeast Asia, Myanmar was not included at first. However, users in Thailand found that the game could be played in cities near Myanmar's borders. The game expanded to the Balkans, Macau, and Central Asia in September 2016. By the end of the year, it was also available in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.
On September 11, 2018, the game was quietly released on Russia's App Store and Google Play Store, more than two years after its first launch. Niantic did not officially announce this release.
In May 2019, the game was released on the Samsung Galaxy Store.
Investors were excited by the success of Pokémon Go's initial release on July 7. Nintendo's stock price rose by 10% at first and reached 50% higher by July 14. Even though Nintendo owned only 32% of The Pokémon Company and an unknown share of Niantic, its value increased by $9 billion in five days after the game's release. This trend continued for more than a week, and by July 19, Nintendo's stock value had more than doubled compared to before the game launched. Sales reached a record of ¥703.6 billion (about $6.6 billion), and Nintendo's stock made up a quarter of all trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Financial Times suggested that investors were betting on the success of future Nintendo apps, not just Pokémon Go, as the company started to focus more on mobile apps, an area it had avoided before. Nintendo planned to release four more smartphone games by March 2017, and investors noted that Nintendo still had valuable characters like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid.
By July 22, Nintendo's market value had increased by ¥1.8 trillion (about $17.6 billion) since the game's release. However, after Nintendo said it did not make Pokémon Go and did not earn much money from it, its stock dropped by 18%—a loss of ¥708 billion ($6.7 billion)—on July 25. This was the biggest single-day drop in Nintendo's history and hit the maximum limit allowed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Macquarie Securities estimated that Nintendo had about a 13% "effective economic stake" in the game.
The stock increase was not only for Nintendo; other companies like Tomy, TV Tokyo, and the Bank of Kyoto also saw big gains. Zagg, a company that makes battery cases, saw its stock rise by 25% because of the game's popularity.
At launch, the game had many server problems because of heavy use. The expected server traffic was reached within 15 minutes of the game's release in Australia and New Zealand, and it peaked at 50 times the expected level, or 10 times the worst-case scenario. The game crashed often and had login errors for several days. For the first two days after launch, players could not log in using their Pokémon Trainer Club accounts; only Gmail accounts worked. Servers had more problems in Australia on July 11, and players blamed people in the UK for using Australian servers before the official release. On July 16, the game's servers went offline in many European countries for a short time. A hacking group called "PoodleCorp" claimed they used a DDoS attack to shut them down, but the issue was fixed later that day. The next day, the servers went down again when the game launched in Canada. John Hanke apologized for the server issues at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con, saying, "we weren't ready for what happened."
Some early versions of the iOS app required users to give the app full access to their Google accounts, allowing it to access emails, files, photos, and other content stored in Google services. The Pokémon Company and Niantic said they recognized that the app "erroneously requested full access permission for the user's Google account." However, a person who first raised concerns about the security issues later said he was not sure if his claims were correct. Dan Guido, CEO of Trail of Bits, studied the app and found that even though the game asked for full account access, it did not allow third-party use of accounts, as first claimed. Guido also found that the app could accidentally access users' email addresses
Reception
Pokémon Go received "mixed or average" reviews when it was first released, according to Metacritic, a website that collects game reviews. Critics said the game was fun to play but had technical problems.
Many reviewers praised the game. Oscar Dayus of Pocket Gamer said it was a very enjoyable experience and noted that catching Pokémon in one’s neighborhood made him happy. Jeremy Parish of US Gamer compared the game’s social features to a type of online game where many people play together. Reviewers also liked that the game encouraged physical activity. Terri Schwartz of IGN called it "the best exercise app" and said it changed her walking habits. Patrick Allen of Lifehacker wrote tips about how to use the game to exercise. Julia Belluz of Vox said the game might be "the greatest unintentional health fad ever" and noted that it helped people move more. Studies showed that users took about 194 extra steps each day on average, which was 26% more than usual. In 2018, IGN ranked Pokémon Go as the 100th best video game of all time.
Philip Kollar and Allegra Frank of Polygon said the game was an exciting social experience but questioned how long it would stay popular. They thought it might last for years or fade quickly.
Other critics had negative opinions. Many mentioned technical problems like frequent crashes and simple gameplay. Kallie Plagge of IGN said the game lacked polish and depth but still had value. Matt Peckham of Time criticized the game for crashing often. Mike Cosimano of Destructoid said the game’s idea was promising but poorly executed. Kat Brewster of The Guardian said the game was not a good game but still a great experience. Server problems also caused criticism. Miguel Concepcion of GameSpot said the game’s early version had many bugs, partly due to server issues. A glitch called the "three-step glitch" made it hard to catch specific Pokémon. Patricia Hernandez of Kotaku said this glitch worsened the game’s poor start. Critics also noted that rural players had fewer opportunities than city players, as rural areas had fewer PokéStops and Gyms.
Pokémon Go quickly became the top-selling and most downloaded app on the American iOS App Store. It became the fastest game to reach the top of the App Store and Google Play, surpassing Clash Royale. It was the most downloaded app on the App Store in its first week. Within two days of release, it was installed on more than 5% of Android devices in the U.S., according to SimilarWeb. Sensor Tower reported over 10 million downloads in the first week, making it the fastest app to reach that milestone. By July 13, it had 15 million global downloads. SurveyMonkey said it was the most active mobile game in the U.S. on July 12, with 21 million users. By July 15, about 1.3 million people in the Netherlands were playing the game, even though it was not officially released there. In Japan, more than 10 million people downloaded it on the day of release, including 1.3 million in the first three hours. By July 31, it had over 100 million downloads worldwide. By August 8, it reached 100 million downloads on Google Play alone in just 33 days.
Through in-game purchases, the game earned over $160 million by the end of July 2016. App Annie reported about $10 million in daily revenue that month. Sensor Tower said the game made over $200 million worldwide that month, breaking records set by Clash of Clans and Candy Crush. By August 12, 2016, the Financial Times reported $268 million in revenue from the U.S., U.K., and Germany. The app’s daily usage on Android devices in July 2016 exceeded that of Snapchat, Tinder, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Due to its popularity, many developers focused on creating similar augmented reality (AR) apps. By September 2, 2016, the game had earned over $440 million globally. By September 30, it had 500 million downloads and $470 million in revenue in 80 days. By September 2016, it had 500 million downloads worldwide and became the fastest game to reach $500 million in revenue. It was named the App Store’s breakout hit of 2016 and the most searched game on Google in 2016.
In the U.S., the game’s usage peaked on July 15, 2016, but by mid-September, it had lost 79% of its players. Forbes said some players stopped playing, and others found the game’s endgame unsatisfying. In October 2016, Niantic released a Halloween-themed event, which increased revenue by 133%, according to Sensor Tower. The game earned about $23.3 million between October 25–29, up from $10 million between October 18–22. App Annie estimated $950 million in total revenue for 2016.
In February 2017, Pokémon Go won the "Best App" award at the Crunchies. By February 2017, it had over 650 million downloads globally and $1 billion in revenue. By June 2017, it had 750 million downloads and $1.2 billion in revenue, according to Apptopia. About 60 million users were still playing the game a year after its launch. In May 2018, The Pokémon Company announced over 800 million downloads worldwide. Forbes estimated the game’s revenue was close to $1 billion by that time.