Pokemon Go

Intense overall intensity
Highest flag: Spending — real-money purchases
AdventureParty/CasualRPG

What's in it

Spending real-money purchases
High

Real-money purchases of PokeCoins buy items such as raid passes, incubators, storage upgrades, and cosmetics.

Spending pressure limited-time / daily-login pressure
Moderate

Limited-time events, timed research, and remote raid passes create optional time-pressure to buy, but the game is playable without spending.

Violence cartoon/stylized
Low

Stylized turn-based and AR battles between cartoon creatures that faint rather than die; no blood, injury, or gore.

Who can reach your kid

Chat with strangersDirect messagesStranger friend requestsGifting / tradingReal-money spending

What it is

Pokemon Go is a free-to-play mobile augmented-reality game in which players walk around real-world locations to find, catch, and collect fictional creatures called Pokemon. Players battle wild Pokemon to catch them and compete at gyms and in cooperative raids, with combat shown as stylized, bloodless creature clashes where a defeated Pokemon simply faints. The social layer is built around a friends list: players add friends (often through shared friend codes), send and open daily gifts, and trade Pokemon. It offers real-money purchases through an in-game shop, and events, timed research, and raid passes can create pressure to spend, though play is possible without any purchases.

How it's framed

The game frames its content as lighthearted collection and outdoor exploration; battles are non-lethal contests between friendly creatures, and there is no gore, sexual content, or foul language. Its main pressure points are commercial — an in-app shop and recurring limited-time events that encourage spending.

Details

Developer
Niantic
Publisher
Niantic
Released
2016
Metacritic 69critic score (third-party) · out of 100

Similar games

We built this because we needed it

Balanced Play pools your kids' game time into one budget across Steam, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and more. We're taking 100 founding families — free for life.

Claim a founding spot →

Free for life for the first 100. No card, no spam.