On April 22nd, Pokémon GO mobilized 17,000 players worldwide, who, together with regional organizations and communities, cleaned up 145 tons of garbage. How did this come about?
That’s why thousands gathered to clean up: The reason for this gigantic event was Earth Day 2019, which took place on April 22nd.
Worldwide, all Pokémon GO players were encouraged to go out and collect litter.
Developer Niantic worked together with organizations and communities worldwide for this day. Now, Niantic has published the results of the actions.
How Pokémon GO got 17,000 players to clean up the world
What is Earth Day? Earth Day is a day organized by Earth Day International German Committee e.V. along with other organizations such as the U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt.
According to the program on the official site, the motto of Earth Day 2019 is diversity and species protection.
Pokémon GO, in collaboration with the organization Playmob, called on all players worldwide to go out and collect litter. The litter was then collected by local organizations and communities.
Source: Niantic website
These are the results of the actions:
- 176 NGOs and 300 player-organized events were involved
- These are spread across 41 countries and 6 continents
- 17,000 players were active for a total of 41,000 hours
- 145 tons of garbage were collected
It’s hard to say how many tons were collected by the players alone, as they cleaned up together with all participants.
How was it possible to motivate so many players? To mobilize as many players as possible, Niantic concurrently held an event in Pokémon GO, which required a new shiny Pokémon and a raid boss.
The event ran from May 13th to April 28th, significantly longer than Earth Day. To participate, one must register and join the clean-up operation. Such an initiative also took place for Earth Day 2018.
The more players that participated, the more bonuses were unlocked by the community during the events.
At one point, it looked like the new raid was in danger. Because 7,000 players needed to participate for it. In the end, this goal was also significantly exceeded.
Developer praises the players’ commitment
Niantic itself says about the figures: “Players worked together in groups of 1-2500, along with government officials, non-profit organizations, and community members, and made an incredible contribution.”
According to the developer, the initiative brought thousands of players worldwide together with other people. For example, in Taiwan, a group of players educated several children about environmental protection.
If you want to learn more, you should read the developer’s blog entry.
What do you think of the initiative? Did you participate yourself?
