A decade of Pokémon Go: how nostalgia and community keep the game alive

When Pokémon Go celebrated its tenth anniversary in July 2026, much of the reaction from players around the world was less about the game’s future than its past. Social media was flooded with screenshots from 2016, with memories of first “catches” and stories of crowded parks filled with players discovering an entirely new way to play Pokémon. The game uses augmented reality technology so players can collect and interact with Pokémon (pocket monsters) on their mobile phones as they go about…