Pokemon GO Fest 2021 sets July weekend dates

Published , by Ozzie Mejia

For Pokemon GO players, there's no weekend bigger than Pokemon GO Fest. This is the big festival celebrating all things Pokemon GO, offering players a chance at rare Pokemon, Shiny Pokemon, and other various goodies. Fans rejoiced on Tuesday when Niantic announced that this year's Pokemon GO Fest would take place in July, though in what form isn't exactly specified.

Here's the full announcement from the Pokemon GO website:

Mark your calendars—Pokémon GO Fest will return this year as a two-day global event from July 17 to July 18, 2021!

Last year’s event featured the debut of a brand-new worldwide format that saw Trainers from around the globe working together to complete challenges, unlock rewards, and defeat Team GO Rocket. From the launch of the Global Challenge Arena to the thrilling research that led us to Victini, Pokémon GO Fest 2020 was truly an event to remember!

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. Stay tuned for more details!

Because of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, last year's Pokemon GO Fest went fully virtual. The format for this year's event has not been revealed, but Niantic finds itself in something of a conundrum. While the American and European population grows more and more fully vaccinated, COVID-19 remains a major scourge. Earlier this week, Japan declared a state of emergency and temporarily closed Super Nintendo World, just to name an example. Whether Pokemon GO Fest will once again be a virtual event or whether it will go hybrid in some fashion remains to be seen.

Pokemon GO Fest 2021 will run from July 17-18 with times and ticket information yet to be revealed. There are a lot of unknown details about this year's Pokemon GO Fest, so we'll be monitoring this story at Shacknews. Come back soon for the latest news and updates.