Pokémon Go Changes Stir Up Frustration
A recent feature that Pokémon Go players thought was a treat vanished almost as quickly as it was introduced. This has sparked new controversy around the game.
Niantic made a sudden update to Pokémon Go. It increased the distance where players could find Pokémon. But today, they rolled it back to the old distance. They shared on Twitter what happened and said they want to hear from players for future updates.
“This happened because of a fix to a bug we didn’t mean to cause,” Niantic said on Twitter. “We’re changing it back now, but we’ll think about your suggestions for later.”
Last night, the game let players find Pokémon from farther away. This was like during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many said this should stay to help more players and those with disabilities get Pokémon easier.
Some of Niantic’s partners were told this feature was on purpose. But Pokémon Go advocate JRHonda121 said Niantic first confirmed it, then said it was a mistake.
Players are really upset about this change. They’ve noticed Niantic seems to not listen to what players want. Just a few months back, a big change to Remote Raid Passes led to protests. So far, Niantic hasn’t made those changes better, even though they talked to ESN.GG about it.
For now, Niantic isn’t saying if they’ll change it back again. ESN.GG reached out to them to get more information.