Pokémon Go’s executives tease a huge event for this summer

In an interview, Yoshiji Kawashima, Niantic’s Asian General Manager, hinted that Legendary events might finally make their way to Pokémon Go this July along with other important new features.

Though the main craze has died down since last summer, Pokémon Go remains one of the most popular mobile games out there, generating millions in revenue each month. I’m not going to lie – I’ve had my share of fun, nostalgic moments with the game last summer, walking around Toronto to catch these augmented reality monsters. But for the longest time, users have been waiting for some important (and often-teased) features to arrive, like player trading and Legendary Pokémon.

Well, if you still have the game on your smartphone, it looks like your patience has finally paid off: in an interview with a Japanese website K-Tai Watch, Niantic’s Asian General Manager Yoshiji Kawashima and Asian General Marketing Manager Kenji Suka hinted that something big is coming this summer. And rumor has it this is the update we were all waiting for, which will bring Legendary events, group raids, PvP battles, and player trading.

I hope you are looking forward to this huge event this summer. Please look forward to it. Engineers are working hard now so that new functions can be implemented.

Strings discovered by some Pokémon Go players seem to confirm this rumor:

• “{0} lost a battle!”
• “{0} was defeated in battle!”
• “{0} fainted at the Gym!”
• “{0} is back after a hard battle!”
• “{0} was forced off the Gym!”
• “{0} has fought hard and returned!”
• “{0} is hungry!”
• “{0} needs a pick-me-up!”
• “{0} wants a berry!
• “{0} was victorious in battle!”
• “{0} has triumphed over your opponents!”
• “{0} defended the Gym!”
• “There’s a raid about to start near you!”
• “A raid’s going to start nearby!”
• “Nearby raid starting soon!”

The general speculation is that raids will allow multiple players to form a team to fight against Legendary Pokémon, something that was alluded to in the official trailer. It’s believed that winning participants will be rewarded with rare or high-level Pokémon.

Reports say that Niantic is also working with local governments to bring other big events and will be introducing smaller events throughout 2017 similar to the recent Water Festival.

Do you still play Pokémon Go? What are your thoughts on these rumored features? Let us know!