Thousands of Pokémon Go Players Gather in Times Square to Defeat Mega Mewtwo Y

The air in Times Square on Thursday evening was electric, with rain and virtual attacks mixing as nearly 2,000 real-world trainers gathered for a historic Pokémon battle. The event marked the 10th anniversary of Pokémon Go, the mobile game by Niantic that took the world by storm in 2016. In its first month, it attracted over 130 million downloads and peaked at 232 million active players.

The event was organized by Scopely, which acquired Niantic last year for $3.5 billion. Invitations were sent to 2,000 players across New York City's five boroughs through community ambassadors to avoid overcrowding. Players only knew about thematic raids near Times Square. At a set time, they were notified to head to Times Square, where a live EDM concert by Loud Luxury took place. Then Mega Mewtwo Y appeared on the many screens, and a united battle began, ultimately defeating the legendary Pokémon.

The event was livestreamed on all Pokémon platforms, and this weekend a free global virtual event will offer the same Mega Mewtwo Y experience to all trainers.

Scopely reports that over 800 million people have played Pokémon Go in the past decade, with more than 1 trillion Pokémon caught. In 2024, the game had over 100 million active players and in 2025 generated $1 billion in revenue. Daily engagement averages 45 minutes, and players have walked over 62 billion miles.

Community ambassadors have grown from 50 to over 3,000 worldwide in the last two years. Nearly 1 million tickets were sold for live events in 2024. The company plans to continue investing in community to make Pokémon Go a multigenerational game.

Player Howie Ragunton shared that Pokémon Go changed his life: he met his wife through the game and proposed to her at a Pokémon Go event in June. He says the game helped him socialize and is always there, even during his travels to remote airports.