Pokémon GO Real World Events Detailed By Niantic

Niantic, Inc. has finally laid bare their plans for upcoming real-world events for their augmented-reality game Pokémon GO according to the game's official website.

The first event, Pokémon GO Fest, will be taking place in Chicago, Illinois on July 22, 2017. Set in Grant Park in Chicago (and unfortunately, completely sold out), trainers attending the event will have several new challenges to contend with while also benefitting from an increase Pokémon spawn rate. Challenges will be running throughout the duration of the event from 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM Central Time; more details about the challenges and the rewards for completing them will be revealed in the days before the event. The website has an F.A.Q. detailing all of the nitty-gritty about the event such as allowed & prohibited items, player lounges, and more.

If you're not fortunate enough to make it to Chicago's event, you can still chip in - trainers around the world can help out by trying to complete challenges of their own during the event. If the Pokémon Trainers of the world catch enough of the little critters during these timed windows, a mystery challenge will be unlocked at the Chicago location. Successful completion of this challenge will give a bonus to players the world over.

Of course, Pokémon GO is a worldwide game and other countries will have their chance to get out and have a little fun capturing their eight-hundredth Pidgey: Safari Zone events will be happening in a few different European countries on the following schedule:

August 5, 2017

• Fisketorvet - Copenhagen, Denmark
• Cerny Most - Prague, Czech Republic

August 12, 2017

• Mall of Scandinavia - Stockholm, Sweden
• Amstelveen - Amsterdam, The Netherlands

September 16, 2017

• CentrO - Oberhausen, Germany
• Les Quatre Temps - Paris, France
• La Maquinista - Barcelona, Spain

The Safari Zone events will allow participants at these locations to capture Pokémon from both the Johto and Kanto regions; there will also be the opportunity to capture creatures that have yet to naturally spawn in Europe. Of course, other special challenges & raid bosses will be happening at these Safari Zone events. More details about the specifics for these seven European locations will be released as the dates gets nearer. Finally, Japanese players can head down to Yokohama from August 9-14, 2017 where a special Pokémon GO experience will be happening. In any case, the first summer following the game's original release is looking to be jam-packed with big events for players to get together and have some fun.

What do you think of these real world special events taking place for Pokémon GO? Do you think Niantic, Inc. is handling the game's special events properly or would you like to see them do something different? Let us know in the comments below!