Which three countries received Pokémon GO on its first launch date?

Australia, New Zealand, and the United States received Pokémon GO on its first launch date, July 6, 2016.

Pokémon GO was developed and published by Niantic in partnership with Nintendo and The Pokémon Company. The mobile game used GPS, location data, and augmented reality to let players find, capture, train, and battle Pokémon in real-world surroundings.

Its release was staggered rather than worldwide on one day. Germany followed on July 13, the United Kingdom on July 14, and Japan on July 22. This regional rollout helped the developers manage demand and the technical strain caused by the game’s sudden popularity.

The first-launch countries are sometimes misremembered because Japan is the franchise’s home market, but Japan was not part of the July 6 release. Pokémon GO later became one of the most prominent mobile games connected to the franchise, introducing Pokémon to a large audience through smartphones and outdoor exploration.