A Pokémon GO update going live tomorrow will undo several modifications that made the game easier to play while staying home. In Pokémon GO, Pokémon spawn in locations that tend to be in heavily trafficked areas, obtaining Poké Balls can mean visiting a stop mapped onto a real-world landmark, and the game also tracks players’ steps for some important rewards. While all of this helped to make the game extremely popular, it also became uniquely problematic during the global pandemic. To address this, the creators introduced a series of temporary changes to the mobile hit’s gameplay throughout this year.
These changes seem to have helped the game and its players continue to thrive during 2020. Last month, the Pokémon Company announced that it would be donating $5 million dollars to various charities after the staggering success of its annual Pokémon GO Fest, despite the fact that the event was all-digital for the first time. Pokémon GO’s continued success may also be a result of its ability to continually adapt and present new content to its players, like its fun celebration of Paris Fashion week.
According to the Pokémon GO team at Niantic, some, but not all, of the alterations made to facilitate play during the pandemic are reverting back to normal starting October 1. After the update, players can expect to walk the original distance to hatch various eggs, incense will no longer get a boost while the player is stationary, Pokémon buddies will only fetch gifts once a day if its trainer is running low, and gifts are not guaranteed after spinning a stop. All of these are connected in some way to moving around outside, so Niantic is careful to caution players to practice social distancing and keep safe. The company also points out that several mechanics will remain as they are, including remote raiding, increased PokéStop range, and battling. Many bonuses, like incense run time and first catch of the day boosts, will also continue in their current enhanced state.
The team closes by urging trainers to keep an eye out for updates to the special bonuses section, but fans of the game also have some other reasons to be looking to the future. Pokémon HOME is going to become compatible with Pokémon GO later in the year. This will allow trainers to transfer Pokémon from Pokémon GO, opening up more space to catch ‘em all. However, this may not be an entirely free option.
It was a good call, in both a pro-consumer and business sense, for Niantic to make alterations to Pokémon GO as players became less and less able to experience the game in its original state. The development team has been flexible up to this point, so if returning some elements of the game at this point prevents fans from playing it - or if there's enough fan backlash - it doesn't seem impossible that the game's stay-at-home bonuses could return.
Source: Niantic