Since the 2016 release of the augmented reality game Pokémon Go, developer Niantic has hosted official live events—such as the annual Pokémon Go Fest, the global Safari Zone, and monthly Community Day—which offer in-game rewards and often partner with local governments. These gatherings attract player counts ranging from thousands to a staggering two million per event, but the high concentration of mobile-device use has caused network outages and led to lawsuits against Niantic. The game's initial viral success in July 2016 spawned massive unofficial player meetups, like a 2,000-person gathering in Sydney and 5,000 in Chicago, which even prompted venues like the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to request players stay away. Niantic CEO John Hanke planned these official events based on the company's experience with its earlier AR game Ingress, and even ran special in-game events, such as boosting rare Lapras spawns in November 2016 to aid tourism recovery after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake. These events proved highly lucrative, generating an estimated $249 million in tourism revenue in 2019 alone, including $120 million from Chicago, $71 million from Montreal, and $56 million from Dortmund.