Niantic, the developer of the successful Pokémon GO mobile game, is donating $10 million to charities that will benefit local communities and benefit its diverse audience. The developer is marking the success of the recent Pokémon GO Fest, which brought in millions of players to catch all sorts of Pokémon and take on Team Rocket during a virtual, two-day event across over 100 countries.

The global gaming event took place last weekend from Saturday, July 25, to Sunday, June 26. Normally the festival is held outdoors in a specific location, but due to the pandemic of COVID-19, the event was held virtually for anyone to attend around the globe. The event broke expectations, and millions of players caught over a billion Pokémon by the end of the weekend.

Related: Who Is Still Playing Pokemon GO?

Back in June, Niantic committed to donating $5 million to various charities, which would go towards communities and organizations, and thanks to the success of the fest, they are now doubling down on that initial commitment. "At the beginning of June, we announced a pledge of a minimum of $5 million to fund nonprofit organizations in the U.S. that are helping local communities rebuild, in addition to funding new projects from Black gaming and AR creators that can live on the Niantic platform, with the ultimate goal of increasing content that represents a more diverse view on the world," Niantic wrote in a press release. "We’re so happy to share that based on the total amount of tickets sold, we’re increasing that pledge to more than $10 million."

As well, Niantic received over 33,000 small business nominations for their local business recovery initiative, from which 1,000 local businesses will be given free promotion in the Pokémon GO app for one year. This means the businesses will act as Pokestops and Gyms, as players roam their neighborhoods looking for all kinds of Pokémon, and they will be given "access to additional in-game marketing tools, such as promotion campaigns." All of this comes on the heels of lots of new announcements about the game itself, including new Mega Evolutions soon to be included. 

Pokémon GO has been one of the most popular mobile games in the world since its launch in 2016, and the results of last weekend's fest prove there's no slowing down. With such a large donation being given to charities that will benefit the Black community - among much else - Niantic is recognizing how massive and diverse its player base is, and hopefully, this donation is simply the tip of the iceberg of what they plan to give back to their dedicated community.

Next: Pokemon Go: How To Capture Plenty of Shiny Pokemon

Source: Niantic