Ten years on, Pokémon Go is still packing out Times Square

Thousands of people packed shoulder-to-shoulder in Times Square, phone screens glowing in the evening heat, coordinating a massive strike to defeat Mewtwo. If you looked at a snapshot of the scene, you would absolutely swear it was the halcyon summer of 2016. But it happened this week. Ten years since it first broke the internet and sent everyone wandering blindly into local parks, Pokémon Go is celebrating its tenth anniversary—and the crowds are still undeniably here.

It is not just the headline-grabbing mega-events in New York, either. Look at the global footprint this weekend. In Japan, McDonald's is rolling out special birthday collaborations. In small Bavarian towns like Beilngries, local papers are noting that players across every conceivable age bracket are still wandering the streets, happily flicking digital Poké Balls. From global trending topics across Asia to local neighbourhood walks, the game has quietly settled into the permanent rhythm of daily life.

We love to talk about the original 'summer of Pokémon Go' as a singular, unrepeatable cultural fever dream. And sure, the sheer, unbridled chaos of those first few months was special. But focusing exclusively on the launch does a massive disservice to what the game has actually built over the last decade. Niantic didn't just capture lightning in a bottle; they built a sturdy, enduring battery to hold it.

What keeps the game alive isn't merely the dopamine hit of catching a shiny Charizard, though that certainly helps. It is the community. It is the accessible augmented reality that genuinely gets you outside, interacting with physical space and real people. The game forces you to inhabit your own neighbourhood differently. It remains the ultimate icebreaker—you see someone paused by a local monument, a battery pack trailing from their pocket to their phone, and you instantly know exactly what they are doing. You share a nod, maybe call out a rare spawn, and suddenly the physical world feels a little bit more connected.

Ten years is an absolute eternity in mobile gaming. Most apps are lucky to hold our attention for a month before being banished to a forgotten folder. Pokémon Go has held it for a decade because it fundamentally understands that the best way to augment reality isn't to escape it, but to give us a brilliant, shared reason to walk out the front door. Here's to the next ten years on the pavement.