It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since Pokémon Go descended onto the world, and filled our lives with Pikachus, Squirtles, and far too many Rattatas. What once seemed destined to be a short-lived fad has turned into a global phenomenon. Developer Niantic claims that the game has been downloaded more than 750 million times, and that 65 million people play it monthly around the world.
Pokémon Go’s wild first year: a timeline
Cheaters, Charmanders, and criminal charges
Cheaters, Charmanders, and criminal charges
James Bareham / The Verge
is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.
Over the game’s first year, a lot has happened. Niantic has fought a seemingly never-ending war with cheaters, players have been arrested for trespassing, and the game even had a small part in the 2016 US presidential election. Here’s a timeline of some of the most notable Pokémon Go stories since the game was first announced.
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