Pokemon Go Arrives in Europe, Starting With Germany

Pokemon Go continues its worldwide expansion today with a release in Germany, the game's first European territory. The hugely popular mobile game arrived in Australia and New Zealand last week, before coming to the United States last Wednesday, July 6.

Its release in Europe could have come sooner, it seems. After Pokemon Go's launch last week, the servers struggled, likely due in part to the game's massive popularity. As a result, developer Niantic Labs announced that it had "paused" the game's international release.

A report earlier this week said Pokemon Go would be released in Europe, as well as Japan and other Asian regions, "within a few days." It remains to be seen when other European countries will get to play Pokemon Go. We'll report back with more information as it becomes available.

Pokemon Go has become a global phenomenon on a level that Niantic might not have even imagined. On the business side, its release has added $9 billion to Nintendo's market cap. Nintendo didn't make the game, but it owns a share of The Pokemon Company, which produced Pokemon Go in partnership with Niantic.

Recently, it was reported that in wake of the game's huge success, Hollywood studios are scrambling to sign a deal for the Pokemon movie rights. In other news, two US Marines who were playing Pokemon Go helped catch an attempted murder suspect this week in California.

For more on Pokemon Go, check out GameSpot's review.