Pokemon GO Fest 2021 goes online again, new dates revealed

Pokemon GO Fest is returning in 2021.

Niantic has revealed the first few details regarding the annual celebration of Pokemon GO. As with 2020, Pokemon GO Fest will be an online event available to players from around the globe. The developer also announced the dates for the event.

Pokemon GO Fest 2021 will run from July 17 to 18.

Few details were given regarding what fans can actually expect from the event, however.

“What does this year’s event have in store? Well, you’ll just have to wait and see! 2021 marks both the twenty-fifth anniversary of Pokémon and the fifth anniversary of Pokémon GO, so trust us when we say you won’t want to miss Pokémon GO Fest 2021! We can’t wait to celebrate another summer together,” Niantic said in a statement.

Previous years of Pokemon GO Fest were hosted as a live event in Chicago, Illinois. This changed to an online event in 2020, which revolved around players tackling specific objectives in order to obtain the mythical Pokemon Victini.

It’s unclear what Pokemon GO Fest 2021 has in store for fans, but it’s likely to be similar to last year in its offering.

How much does a Pokemon GO Fest 2021 ticket cost?

Niantic did not disclose how much a Pokemon GO Fest ticket will cost, but it will most likely be the same $14.99 that was charged in 2020. The ticket will be available to purchase through the in-game Pokemon GO Store.

The tickets will offer players the chance to take part in the Pokemon GO Fest festivities. Last year, this included an exclusive list of catchable Pokemon, Special Research questlines, and special missions where players were paired off with one another in order to complete them.

Is Pokemon GO worth playing in 2021?

Though Pokemon GO’s days as a pop culture sensation are in the past, that doesn’t mean that the game has gone away or even declined. In fact, Pokemon GO’s player count has actually continued to rise in the years since its launch in 2016, showing that Pokemon GO is still worth playing in 2021 for many of its users.

As of this writing, the majority of the 898 Pokemon are available to capture in Pokemon GO, with a slew of Generation 6 Pokemon being added to the game earlier this year. Alongside the Kalos Pokemon from X and Y that are available to catch, there are also special events, raids, and eggs that offer players the opportunity to obtain regional variants ranging from Alola and Galar. 

In terms of gameplay, Pokemon GO is generally the same as before but has added some extra wrinkles such as battling and trading. Most of the game is still based on walking around in real life, finding Pokemon, and catching them by flicking a Pokeball via the phone’s screen.

Outside of these sorts of events, very little content is hidden behind a paywall in Pokemon GO, so there’s not really any reason to hold back from picking it back up if you’re interested in catching some Pokemon out in the wild.