Developer Niantic has brought weather-related visual effects back to Pokémon GO following the feature's removal last year. The mobile alternate reality game lets players explore their actual neighborhoods in order to find, battle and collect digital pocket monsters. The game used to accurately reflect an area's real-world weather conditions, which inspired the Pokémon GO Weather Week event back in March 2021, but this feature was sadly removed in December of last year.
As an alternate reality game, Pokémon GO strives to get gamers out of the house by transforming their surroundings into a Pokémon habitat. The game's map is a geographical representation of the player's community, allowing pocket monsters to appear in parks, on sidewalks or near other public areas. PokéStops and Pokémon Gyms are also important parts of the game, with PokéStops attracting wild Pokémon and Gyms letting players face off in online battles. Pokémon GO places PokéStops and Gyms at real-world landmarks like libraries or parks, increasing immersion and creating a sense of community. In-game events, like the Pokémon GO Weather Week Rayquaza Raid, also help make the game an ever-evolving experience.
After the feature was disabled in December 2021, Niantic Support (via Twitter) has announced that weather-related visual effects are returning to Pokémon GO. The immersive VFX were apparently causing a bug last year, so they were temporarily removed while the developer investigated the issue. Gamers never expected the fix to take five months, but now players can once again see the local weather reflected on their in-game map. The weather effects are purely visual, but they go a long way towards making the alternate reality experience more convincing. Pokémon GO players must restart the app to reenable weather VFX.
Alongside the removal of weather effects, a Pokémon GO controversy timeline illustrates how the game's reputation has degraded since launch. The AR game has been well-regarded by many players, but overpriced event tickets and removed quality-of-life features have led to significant backlash over the years. Many in-game events require paid tickets to participate, and the $7.99 price point of these tickets has not always matched the quality of the event. The removal of bonuses implemented during the COVID-19 lockdown even led to a boycott called "Pokémon NO Day," which elicited an apology from Niantic.
While removing weather effects due to a bug is understandable, Pokémon GO mysteriously lacked this basic feature for the last five months. However, weather-related visual effects have finally made their way back into the game, allowing players to become fully immersed in the alternate reality experience. Players just need to restart the Pokémon GO app to enable weather effects, and they should be sure to keep Pikachu out of the rain if possible.
Pokémon GO is available on iOS and Android.
Source: Niantic Support/Twitter