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Pokémon Go Recreates Iconic Mewtwo Raid in Times Square for 10th Anniversary

The spectacle underscores the game’s power to draw players to live events and to drive paid community activations as the company expands in‑person programming.

Overview

  • Scopely and legacy Niantic teams staged a Times Square Unity Raid this week that drew more than 1,000 players who defeated Mega Mewtwo Y and each received a free Master Ball plus the chance to catch a high‑stat Mewtwo.
  • The event recreated the game’s original trailer moment with giant animations across the plaza and a coordinated Unity Attack mechanic that required players to raise their phones to break Mewtwo’s shields.
  • Scopely said Pokémon Go has reached about 800 million players across 150+ countries and generated over $1 billion in revenue in 2025, and it announced more than two dozen community events with exclusive in‑game rewards worldwide.
  • The anniversary celebrations revived concerns about the game’s ownership chain after Scopely’s 2025 acquisition and Savvy Games Group/PIF’s 2023 purchase, and reopened questions about optional location‑scan data after a June report tied such data to external projects that Niantic denies.
  • Some players criticized exclusive, invitation‑only rewards at the Times Square activation, including reports of guaranteed perfect‑IV Mewtwo prizes for select attendees, a dispute that highlights tension between live event ticketing and broad in‑game access.