The game is free-to-play; it uses a freemium business model combined with local advertising and supports online purchases for additional in-game items as well as virtual and real-world events.

It is credited with popularizing location-based and AR technology, promoting physical activity, and helping local businesses grow due to escalated foot traffic.

Customization now includes a limited number of different hair styles, the ability to adjust the body size of the avatar, and expanded options for skin color.

Purification of the Pokémon are increases its level and stats from their Shadow counterparts, can learn an exclusive move when purified, and need fewer candies to evolve.

[77] On March 4, 2016, Niantic announced a Japan-exclusive beta test would begin later that month, allowing players to assist in refining the game before its full release.

[87] In December 2016, coffeehouse chain Starbucks and telecommunications company Sprint collaborated with Nintendo to add PokéStops and gyms at certain locations of theirs throughout the United States.

[91] In February 2017, an update was released which introduced over 100 species based in the Johto region from the second generation of the core Pokémon series, which were added alongside the original 151.

[117] The Japanese launch was initially reported to be on July 20;[141] however, the game was delayed after a sponsorship deal with fast food chain McDonald's was leaked,[142][143] instead releasing two days later.

Bus tickets from the capital city of Seoul sold out and people living within Sokcho shared information on free Wi-Fi areas to tourists.

[151]: 199  Taiwan's high degree of urbanization is conducive to the game's location-based features, and crowds of thousands played in the walkable metropolitan areas of Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung.

[179][180] Dan Guido, CEO of the security company Trail of Bits, analyzed the app's programming and discovered that although the game did request full account access, this did not enable third-party usage as initially conveyed.

Normally, this feature shows between zero and three footprints to inform the player of how close they are to a nearby Pokémon; however, it universally became "stuck" at three steps, earning it the name "three-step-glitch".

Some Legendary Pokémon, which are rare and powerful versions of the creatures, were also obtained by players in a glitch, though they were later removed from the accounts of the trainers to keep the game fair.

[201] Julia Belluz (Vox) said it could be the "greatest unintentional health fad ever" and wrote that one of the results of the game that the developers may not have realized was that "it seems to be getting people moving".

[222] The same month, Sensor Tower reported that the game had passed more than $200 million in worldwide revenue, beating every existing record set by Clash of Clans and Candy Crush by a wide margin.

[236] In October 2016, Niantic released a Halloween-themed event, which saw a surge in revenue up to 133% as reported by Sensor Tower, placing the game back to top of the charts of highest grossing apps.

[251] Two years from its initial launch, analyst firm Sensor Tower estimated the game had grossed over $1.8 billion from in-app purchases, reporting that players around the world continue to spend $2 million each day.

[260] According to Sensor Tower in November 2020, Pokémon Go had accumulated nearly 600 million unique installs and generated almost $4.2 billion in revenue from in-game purchases via the iOS App Store and Google Play.

[283] Within a week of its release, a secondary market emerged for the game, both for the resell of high-level accounts on Craigslist and PlayerUp, and for the sale of expert advice on Thumbtack.

[284][285] Wireless provider T-Mobile US started an offer for free data for a year for Pokémon Go sessions,[286][287] and Yelp added a filter that only shows businesses which have a PokéStop nearby.

[294][295] In late July 2016, during a public address, the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, compared a political issue about the date of an incoming referendum as preposterous as the hunt for the Pokémon.

[335] The Community Days in 2018 featured Pikachu (January 20), Dratini (February 24), Bulbasaur (March 25), Mareep (April 15), Charmander (May 19), Larvitar (June 16), Squirtle (July 8), Eevee (August 11–12), Chikorita (September 22), Beldum (October 21), and Cyndaquil (November 10).

[339][340][341] While Pokémon Go was trending worldwide,[342] Akil couldn't help but notice how the media forgot about the war in Syria, and visualised his idea in the form of digital collages.

[367] Police departments in various countries issued warnings, some tongue-in-cheek, regarding inattentive driving, trespassing, and being targeted by criminals due to being unaware of one's surroundings.

[371] In Russia, a 21-year-old video blogger, Ruslan Sokolovsky, was arrested in September 2016 for two months after playing Pokémon Go at the Church of All Saints in Yekaterinburg,[372] and eventually received a suspended sentence for three and a half years in prison for charges of blasphemy.

[382] In Saudi Arabia, the General Secretariat of the Council of Senior Scholars declared, in light of a 2001 fatwa banning the Pokémon card game as a form of gambling, that the electronic app required a new ruling.

[386] Thus the Thai National Broadcasting and Communications Commission intends to ask Niantic to remove Pokémon characters and PokéStops from locations such as government facilities, historic and religious sites, private property as well as dangerous spots such as narrow footpaths and rivers.

[397] In India, the Gujarat High Court issued a notice to Niantic, the developer of the popular AR-based game, on the grounds of "posing danger to public safety".

[409] Launched on July 22, 2016, "Pokévision" enabled players to find exactly where Pokémon spawned and how much time was left until they despawned; the site used data hacked directly from the game.

Players in New Zealand and the United States were the first to receive the post-pandemic changes, and gradually, they were rolled out to the rest of the world "in accordance with recommendations from global health organizations.