Nearly 2,000 Players Gather in Times Square for Pokémon Go Anniversary Raid

Nearly 2,000 players gathered in Times Square on July 9 for a special Mewtwo raid battle during Pokémon Go's 10th anniversary event in New York City. Many participants were influencers. The area briefly went dark before billboards lit up to show an escaped Mewtwo Mega Evolving.

Scopely acquired Niantic’s games business in 2025. Michael Steranka, the company’s VP of product, joined Niantic in 2017 to help coordinate an earlier event in Chicago. During a press briefing this week, Steranka said he thought he “should have been fired” after that event.

He added that the team held an offsite in Seattle afterward to review what went wrong and how to fix it. Over 800 million people have downloaded Pokémon Go since its launch. Scopely reported $1 billion in revenue from the game in 2025.

Ed Wu, Scopely’s games president, said the company is examining ways people of different ages introduce one another to Pokémon and how gyms can foster communities. Pokémon Go Fest 2026 will take place this Saturday and Sunday with millions of participants and additional Mewtwo encounters. New mainline Pokémon titles are scheduled for release in 2027.