Niantic drove $249 million in tourism revenue with its walking events in 2019

Niantic has revealed details of its lineup of event locations for its walking games (Pokémon Go, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and Ingress) for 2020. And the company also said that it drove more than $249 million in tourism revenue for the cities on its event list for 2019.

The San Francisco-based Niantic said it has added Liverpool, Philadelphia, and St. Louis to its event list in 2020.

In 2019, Niantic held 77 live events in 32 countries. It said that more than 2.7 million people from 60 countries engaged with those events, and they walked over 6.5 million kilometers together.

The company estimated the total impact for the cities hosting the events were $120 million for Chicago, $71 million for Montreal, and $54 million for Dortmund, Germany.

This means that Niantic has done something unique in gaming. Through large-scale live events, hundreds of thousands of players from around the world have come together to play games, explore the world, and share experiences.

Michael Steranka, the senior manager of live events at Niantic, said in a statement that live events have been central to its games in the past seven years, leading to more interactive expriences that foster exploration, discover, healthy lifestyles, and social meetings that lead to lasting friendships.

Pokémon Go Events

Above: Pokémon Go Fest Chicago 2019.

Image Credit: Niantic

Niantic’s live events last year include Pokémon Go Fest 2019 Chicago, Pokémon Go Fest 2019 Dortmund, and Pokémon Go Safari Zone Montréal.

This year, trainers can look forward to an array of Pokémon Go events taking place throughout the first-half of the year and across the globe including:

• Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taichung — February 6-February 9
• Pokémon Go Safari Zone St. Louis — March 27-March 29
• Pokémon Go Safari Zone Liverpool — April 17-April 19
• Pokémon Go Safari Zone Philadelphia — May 8-May 10

More information about tickets will be announced soon.

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite

Players can look forward to joining the second Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Fan Festival later this year. Additional details on the event will be announced soon here.

Ingress

Above: The upcoming Pokémon Go event for St. Louis.

Image Credit: Niantic

Agents around the world will be able to experience an all-new live event structure in Ingress taking place throughout the first-half of the year and across the globe including:

Perpetua Hexathlon — February 29

• Asia-Pacific Region: Christchurch, New Zealand; Adelaide, Australia; Naha, Okinawa, Japan; Bengalaru, India; Chiang Mai, Thailand
• Europe: Porto, Portugal; Milan, Italy; Lille, France; Bratislava, Slovakia; Ruse, Bulgaria
• Americas: San Antonio, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; Miami, Florida; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Tijuana, Mexico

Lexicon Hexathlon – April 25

• Asia-Pacific Region: Colombo, Sri Lanka; Taichung City, Taiwan; Bogor, Indonesia; Baguio City, Philippines; Songpa District, Seoul, Korea
• Europe: Moscow, Russia; Edinburgh, Scotland; Pilsen, Czechia; Budapest, Hungary; Valencia, Spain
• Americas: San Francisco, California; Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Victoria, BC, Canada; Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

Requiem Anomaly

• Munich — May 9. More information will be here.