Just a few months back when social distancing was a new phrase and group gatherings were being shut down for the first time, it was hard to imagine what Pokemon GO might look like this summer. Niantic had to make some quick changes to PoGO (and its other mobile AR games) in an attempt to make the experiences as play-at-home friendly as possible while the coronavirus threat stood in the way of meeting up with strangers in public places to play games together. In a pleasant turn of events, the game's community seems to be just as engaged as ever and loads of new features and adjusted event bonuses have made it the perfect time to jump back into the mobile experience.
In addition to all of the daily bonuses and other reason to play Pokemon GO right now, the summer of events has been going incredibly well. Although players can't fly around the world to the in-person events that were originally planned, the replacement events have made it easy for players to stay engaged while safely social distancing. What could have been the biggest loss of the summer, the massive four year anniversary event at GO Fest 2020, has been converted into a worldwide remote experience that is selling a crazy about of tickets.
Niantic just confirmed that over 1 million Trainers have now purchased tickets for Pokemon GO Fest 2020. At $14.99 per ticket, that means that Niantic should be having a very profitable summer thanks to the big event (along with other sales like Remote Raid Passes and incubators). The serious turnout for the event shouldn't be surprising and it's hard to imagine going back to an event that limits tickets to a small number of people in one location after seeing this kind of hype and turnout for the remote event.
Obviously there is something very special about gathering in person for big Pokemon GO events and the community is eager to get back to that old tradition when the timing is safe, but hopefully Niantic continues offering additional ways for remote players to participate in the future. Clearly there is a massive demand for this sort of thing and it seems like the company can make a lot more money by opening up tickets to every player on the planet, instead of just a small pool that can be in a select city during a specific weekend.
As trainers continue working through all of these amazing events, they may want to keep hunting down the best Unova Pokemon in the game if improving their Battle Raid rosters and completing their Pokedex is their primary goal. Be sure to check back in the near future for more Pokemon GO strategy guides, news, and updates. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GO is available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices.
Source: Pokemon GO Twitter