Since their addition to Pokémon GO, stickers and their functionality have remained largely mysterious to players. Niantic added stickers to Pokémon GO as part of the Version 0.177.0 update in June 2020. While their aesthetic purposes have been clear, the benefits they may or may not provide players have not been. So, do Pokémon GO do anything?
Stickers in Pokémon GO serve as cosmetic items added to the gifts that players send to one another. Players may either receive stickers from Pokéstops and in-game events or buy them from the in-game store. They can then attach stickers to gifts they send to friends. However, as soon as people open their gifts, the stickers disappear. This has made stickers appear as pointless content that Pokémon GO never needed. However, stickers' ephemerality and limited nature - players can only hold 25 at a time - has led many to wonder what else they might do other than dissipating into thin air.
Unfortunately, stickers in Pokémon GO only provide aesthetic purposes so far. Even after being in the game for over a year, Niantic has not found other ways to give stickers other functions that could lend them more purpose in the game. Niantic continues to produce new stickers, though, which could suggest that the company has plans for them in the future.
Pokémon GO Stickers Could Have A Bigger Purpose In A Future Update
One of the more likely features that could be added to stickers is a friendship growth boost when they accompany gifts. Right now, Pokémon GO offers few options for players to grow friendship levels, making the project of reaching the level of Best Friend a long-term one. If players could get a multiplier to friendship development by adding stickers to their gifts, Niantic could expedite this process and encourage people to trade gifts with more friends. On top of this, growing friendship levels yields tons of experience points, which means this potential feature for stickers could help players finally reach Pokémon GO's coveted level cap.
However, Pokémon GO stickers may only serve to encourage players to purchase them from the store. Functionless aesthetic items have become the cash cow of the gaming industry because of free-to-play games like Fortnite finding major success in its sales of skins and emotes. Stickers represent Pokémon GO's most brazen foray into priced aesthetic items because unlike the clothes for avatars, stickers are impermanent and only last for one use. That they still have an overall positive reception means it is likely they will remain in their current, functionless state.
Hopes that Pokémon GO stickers could gain new features may be high, but the prospect of Niantic actually updating the aesthetic items looks dim. With more and more stickers being added to the game, they are most probably going to remain the way they are considering that Niantic has invested resources in crafting new designs. Nevertheless, the game remains successful five years after its release, so Niantic must know what changes are healthiest for Pokémon GO.