Pokémon Go celebrated its 10th anniversary with a very special livestream — and we covered all of the announcements and surprises as they happened.
The game’s developer — previously Niantic, though rebranded this week as Scopely Explore — had been extremely secretive about what this livestream would feature, though eagle-eyed fans had spotted a few clues.
Over the past few weeks and months, hardcore fans have been discussing invitations sent out to local Community Ambassadors inviting them to a mysterious event in New York. Then, this week, an eye-catching 10th Anniversary artwork was released featuring Mewtwo in what looks like Times Square. This is, of course, the setting of a giant Mewtwo battle in the game’s first proper trailer, released 10 years ago… and it was a fitting location for the celebrations today.
What did we think might happen? Well, we had a feeling that some kind of enormous Mewtwo battle in Times Square, perhaps taking over the location’s many screens to display a giant raid boss, would certainly fit the bill. Most attendees appear to have had no clue what was about to unfold, including several high profile streamers announced as being in attendance, as well as those hand-picked Ambassadors.
But while the livestream ended up focusing on the events in Times Square, we also saw the briefest of hints at Pokémon Go’s future also reported. Read on for more on all of that.
Mewtwo Defeated in Times Square
Pokémon Go’s 10th anniversary celebration wrapped up with — no surprises, really — Mewtwo defeated in New York. The event may have been light on announcements for the game’s future, but still certainly showed that the game’s present can still make an impact. Here’s to the next 10 years.
More Than 1,000 Trainers Fight Mega Mewtwo
Mewtwo might have broken out in Times Square, but luckily more than 1,000 players were on hand for an enormous real-time battle. And in a nice (but expected) twist, Mewtwo was able to Mega Evolve into Mega Mewtwo Y to provide an even tougher challenge. Players worked together to defeat the raid boss, who flitted around Times Square’s screens, which also displayed participants’ avatars and Pokémon.
And after Mega Mewtwo Y was caught — in a Master Ball, no less — the whole process repeated again so players could catch a second Mewtwo. Players on the stream stated that they had caught a guaranteed perfect IV “hundo” version, a fine reward.
📢🚨Mewtwo has arrived in Times Square!
📍: New York City, USA #PokemonGO10 pic.twitter.com/6Juv4NMgaL
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) July 10, 2026
Lights Out in Times Square
Times Square plunged into darkness as the evening’s big event began… with all of the location’s screens now playing the game’s iconic original trailer from 2016. It was a Pokémon Go takeover of New York’s busiest location.
This trailer previewed in-game features that took years to finally arrive, including trading, battling and raids. And now, the end of that trailer was also happening. Mewtwo was finally turning up in Times Square, to be battled by a waiting crowd of thousands.
Professor Willow Pikachu Plush Confirmed
A special Pikachu plush toy wearing a Professor Willow costume has been confirmed, and will be available via the Pokémon Center store in the near future. You’ll be able to catch this costumed Pikachu in-game too, in an upcoming event.
Pokémon Go Pop-Up Now Open in Times Square
Today’s livestream is broadcasting from a pop-up location in Times Square, with fans pouring in. In-game, spawns and raids appear to be rotating through the years that Pokémon Go has been live, beginning with 2017 and raids such as Lugia, through 2018 and raids such as Groudon.
Exactly when the big Mewtwo raid we’re all expecting would happen, remained to be seen.
👀
📍: New York City, USA #PokemonGO10 pic.twitter.com/cVOtg3fFlM
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) July 9, 2026
It’s Go Time…
Today’s livestream began, live from Times Square in New York.
After some brief introduction from host Sydnee Goodman, plus Pokémon YouTubers such as Mystic7, landoralpha and AwesomeAdam, the presenters fixed some technical difficulties as they began catching spawns in the iconic location.
Even from the off, there was been word of a Unity Raid happening later on, which is the new kind of in-person raid experience introduced during this year’s in-person Go Fests in Chicago, Copenhagen and Tokyo. These require those in attendance to raise their phones in the air — a mechanic that will likely be kept to such large gatherings.
Three Major Content Areas for Next 10 Years
At a press conference prior to today’s livestream attended by PokémonGoHub, the game’s veteran team leader Michael Steranka briefly listed three major focuses for Pokémon Go’s second deacde. These are:
- Community: with a focus on Gyms and how they form part of community play
- Core Memories: with a focus on offering more ways of forming strong memories playing together
- Multi-Generational Play: with a focus on ensuring Pokémon Go can be played by all generations
Exact details of how these three focuses will be covered was left typically vague, though the suggestion that gyms could be reworked once again is certainly an interesting one.
Image credits: Scopely Explore; Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty Images
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
