The coronavirus outbreak has brought sweeping changes to industries across the world, but one of the least negatively-affected has been gaming. While many releases have been delayed, the global lock-down hasn’t done anything to player numbers but increase them. There have been a few notable exceptions however, and one of them isPokemon GO, Niantic’s augmented-reality Pokemon spin-off. With a global lock-down in place, playingPokemon GOin the way it was designed is simply no longer an option for most players.
In the four years since it’s rocky launch,Pokemon GOhas gone from strength to strength, and in 2019 was attracting over a hundred million active users every month. Obviously, a game focused around getting out into the world and congregating at local attractions was never going to thrive during the global lockdown. Being aware of this, Niantic have made sure toadapt its game to the current climate, but now fans are worried that changes they view as improvements will be rolled back after quarantine is lifted.
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How Pokemon GO has changed
The changes came slowly at first, as Niantic assessed just how impactful the pandemic would be onPokemon GO. The first sign that it was responding to the lock-down came in early March, with the cancellation of several events, and a number of changes to Incense, Pokestops and Hatching times. These changes were reinforced later in the month, with free Pokeballs, 1 Coin Bundles in the Shop, changes to Gifts, longer-range Gym interactions, and extra rewards for the first Pokemon caught each day.
It was around this time that Niantic made its first real statement on the impact of Covid-19. In a letter to the community, the company expressed its intent to adapt all their augmented-reality titles to the new environment. Methods it highlighted included expanding Adventure Sync to better pick up on at-home exercise, allowing more remote multiplayer inPokemon GO, creating ways for players to virtually visit real-world locations, and a greaterfocus on Live Events.
It wasn’t until mid-April that Niantic really brought these initiatives into effect, with a series of fresh updates. A brand new item, the Remote Raid Pass, was introduced to allow players to participate inRaid Battlesfrom a distance. Additionally, Buddy Pokemon started bringing Gifts to players who were running low, and various buffs could be stacked to increase their durations.
Why it shouldn’t change back
With the lock-down now beginning to ease across the world, companies that made changes to adapt to it are beginning to look at reversing those changes. Niantic made it clear during the height of the crisis that thechanges it were makingwere temporary, and that fans could expect to see them reversed once things returned to “normal.”
As this moment grows closer, rumbles are beginning to surface from within the community, a growing belief among many fans that some of the pandemic changes have markedly improvedPokemon GO, and their removal would actually hurt the game. In discussions on Reddit and forums, many fans have expressed their disappointment in the idea that Niantic would choose to roll back some of these changes.
Points of particular contention are the improvements to Incense, the increased reach and guaranteed Gifts at Pokestops, and the removed walking requirement for the GO Battle League. The first of these, the improved effectiveness of Incense, has been one of the biggest changes during the pandemic.Incense is used to attract Pokemon, and during the outbreak its duration has been doubled, while its effectiveness has been quintupled to attract a Pokemon once a minute.
These changes have hugely improved the incentive to actually use Incense, and while they may not fit withPokemon GO’s theme, they’ve certainly enhanced many player’s enjoyment of the game. Similarly, the increasedreach of Pokestops, the remote Raids and guaranteed Gifts have only built on Pokemon GO’s strengths of community and exploration.
Obviously Niantic is a business, and will act according to what it considers best for the title’s continued success. While it’s possible that some of the changes, those that have less of an impact on the game’s Shop, will remain, it’s somewhat less likely for the majority of them. Certainly the end of the pandemic will see the end of the 1 Coin Bundles, which were the most charitable of Niantic’s changes, but it’s possible that things like the improvements to Pokestops, Gifts, andremote-multiplayermay be sticking around.
Pokemon GOis available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices.
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