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Many of Pokemon GO's features that were adjusted for the COVID-19 pandemic are currently being reversed in the United States and New Zealand, and fans aren't happy about it.
Niantic is reducing spin distance between Pokestops as well as rolling back things such as Incense spawn rates while stationary, and Buddy Pokemon gift frequency.
The developer is currently implementing a rollback of many features that were introduced at the outset of the pandemic in the two countries with apparent plans to continue worldwide. This has continued despite the fan community vocally opposing the measures, saying that the Delta variant of COVID-19 is spreading in much of the United States as well as the rest of the world.
As of August 2, 2021, Niantic has yet to address fan concerns.
Pokemon GO: List of upcoming rollbacks and changes
Niantic's current silence towards the Pokemon GO community aside, there are a number of projected changes that appear to be in the works, until otherwise stated.
While the main changes will be applied to Pokestops, there are a number of changes elsewhere as well as a few features that Niantic intends to keep. They can be found below:
- Pokestop and Gym interaction distances will allegedly revert back to their pre-pandemic levels. Though, this may later be tweaked due to events or other extraneous circumstances.
- Incense effectiveness while a Pokemon GO player remains stationary will allegedly regress to its original spawn rate. However, the spawn rate will increase while moving.
- Under the assumption that more players will be collecting gifts via Pokestops, Niantic appears to want to reduce the number of gifts that a player's Buddy Pokemon provides them with.
- Remote Raids appear to be close to being reworked as well, with Niantic allegedly attempting to balance their engagement with in-person raids.
- Incense's duration will remain at 60 minutes before expiring.
- Pokemon GO will still not require a walking distance requirement for GO Battle League.
- Players will still be able to challenge each other in Pokemon GO over distance with a QR code. The requirement to remotely battle against friends has been reduced to Good Friends.
- Players will still be able to hold a maximum of 20 gifts at a time.
- Players can open up to 30 gifts per day, in contrast to 20.
- The First Catch Bonus of 3x Stardust and XP will remain.
It remains to be seen whether Niantic will address the Pokemon GO community's concerns, as the current perception appears to be that the company is placing profit over the safety and health of its fans.
If this image persists, it could be a significant problem for the company going forward. Fans are already calling for boycotts or reduced media coverage of Pokemon GO until Niantic changes course.
Perhaps an official statement over the next few days could clear the air for the mobile developer, but for now, the frustration from the fanbase is palpable.
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