Pokémon Go's postponed in-person events from 2020 will finally be held this autumn
Play in Liverpool, Philadelphia, St. Louis - or at home.
Pokémon Go's ticketed 2020 Safari Zone events will finally be held this autumn, as hybrid events with the option to play either in-person or from home.
Those with tickets to 2020's postponed Liverpool, Philadelphia and St. Louis events will be able to visit the cities and take part there. Alternatively, the option to play remotely will also be supported.
Here in the UK, Pokémon Go Safari Zone: Liverpool will now be held Friday 15th to Sunday 17th October in the city's Sefton Park.
Over in the US, Pokémon Go Safari Zone: Philadelphia will be held on Friday 29th to Sunday 31st October in the city's Fairmount Park. After that, Pokémon Go Safari Zone: St. Louis will run from Friday 12th to Sunday 14th November in Tower Grove Park.
Additional details on the new dates for Pokémon Go Safari Zone events will be announced in the coming weeks, Niantic said today, such as what players might find when playing in-person within host cities, but the events' City Explorer Pass add-on will be refunded.
If you do choose to go in-person, you'll need to RSVP soon to ensure numbers can be kept safe for distanced gathering, Niantic said. All ticket holders will be contacted shortly with further details.
It may be similar to this summer's Pokémon Go Fest 2021 - in general a remote event, albeit with pop-up photo opportunities and freebies in a number of cities worldwide.
The UK's first Safari Zone event was originally due to be held in Liverpool back in April 2020, but was delayed indefinitely due to the pandemic. Attendees purchased tickets for one of three days. A make-up event was held instead on the original dates for people to play at home in lockdown, providing the same creatures and bonuses. Here, I reported on playing Pokémon Go in my kitchen.
As for what these new versions of the 2020 events will offer, Niantic has said to expect featured creatures in the wild and attracted to Incense, as you'd expect from an event also playable from home. There will be a new Special Research questline, plus eight hour incense and lures so you can hoover up Pokémon all day. Again, all of these will be available to ticket holders wherever they choose to play.