Despite an ongoing global pandemic, Niantic has largely been able to weather the storm with its massive popular mobile game, Pokemon GO. While the game encourages people to get out and explore while catching all sorts of the famous Pokemon creatures, many were wondering how the game would continue in a world that preached social distancing and quarantine. Thankfully, the developer made some changes to Pokemon GO such as increasing bonuses and catch radius, which helped fans continue to play while staying safe.
While most of these changes have been reverted back to pre-pandemic settings, one aspect of the game that unfortunately took a major hit during the peak pandemic years was Pokemon GO Fest. Originally a live show for fans to attend, the event transitioned to a purely digital one where everyone could participate regardless of location. For many fans, the annual event is a highly anticipated moment as it brings with it unique raids, special research tasks, and other opportunities to catch some of the more rare Pokemon within the mobile title.
The highly anticipated start date for Pokemon GO Fest has finally been announced by Niantic. This year will be a special two-day event starting on Saturday, June 4, through Sunday, June 5, 2022. There's also a bonus finale event that will be coming on Saturday, August 27, though Niantic isn't quite ready to detail what Pokemon GO fans can expect during the finale.
However, after a two-year hiatus, Niantic also revealed that special in-person Pokemon GO Fest events are also coming back. The first kicks off on Friday, July 1 and runs through July 3 in Berlin, Germany. Later in the month, fans can take part in the second GO Fest event in Seattle, Washington starting on Friday, July 22 through July 24. Finally, Pokemon GO Fest returns to Japan on Friday August 5, through August 7 in Sapporo.
While the news should excite Pokemon GO fans, that's not the only thing Niantic has in the works. Outside of rumors that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet could see some of its unique monsters make the jump to Pokemon GO later this year, Niantic has confirmed a busy schedule for April. There's the already announced Stufful Community Day on April 23 as well as the continued Season of Alola, in addition to some upcoming events like the April Fools 2-Oh?-22 and All-Hands Rocket Retreat during the first week of the month with two additional events to follow after that. As expected, April will have its usual raid and Spotlight hours each week as well, with Stunky, Bunnelby, Oddish, and Sunshine Form Cherrim in the forefront.
Pokemon GO is out now for iOS and Android mobile devices.
Source: Pokemon GO Live