What Year was Pokemon GO Released?

What Year was Pokemon GO Released? Pokemon GO was first released to the United States, Australia and New Zealand on July 6, 2016. It would go on to release in regions globally, finally reaching Russia in September 2018.

What Year was Pokemon GO Released?

Originally released with only the first generation of Pokemon, the game has been updated several times in the last three years with new features. In December 2016, some Pokemon first appearing in Gold/Silver/Crystal were added to the game, with more coming in early 2017.

Beginning in late 2017, third generation Pokemon were introduced to the game in type themed waves. This update also featured a new weather system similar to the one found in the corresponding mainline games Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald.

There was a minor update in mid 2018 that saw Alolan forms of Pokemon, however Pokemon from Sun/Moon proper were not introduced.

In late 2018, Pokemon that first appeared in Diamond/Pearl/Platinum were beginning to be released in waves. Currently there are still a few more Pokemon from this region to be released, which we'll see as we go further into 2019.

The latest update brought an old fan favorite type of Pokemon to the game: Shadow Pokemon. Shadow Pokemon were first introduced in the Gamecube games Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness, first released in 2003 and 2005 respectively. It had not been seen in a game since, and the purification mechanic is close to its original incarnation.

There are still three more Generations of Pokemon to be released, and we can expect to see these as an inevitability if the game survives. Even three years after its release, it has a huge player base and is consistently among the top mobile games in terms of popularity. There are still huge turnouts for the live events, and the game seems to be going as strong as ever.

Photo courtesy of Niantic.