Niantic is still looking for new ways to get Pokemon Go players back to playing in person, but it won’t be doing away with remote raids. That’s the message received during a recent panel discussion with Pokémon Go director Michael Steranka.
“We have no intention at this time of removing remote raids for the regular raid tiers: one, three and five star raids,” Steranka said, “but we haven’t been shy about the fact that we’re looking at opportunities for players. play in person again.
There has been growing concern within the Pokemon Go community that Niantic would end remote raiding altogether. Introduced in April 2020 in response to mandatory Covid lockdowns, Remote Raids allow Pokémon Go players to participate in raids from the comfort of their own homes. However, players found the feature so convenient that many continued to raid remotely even after lockdowns were lifted.
Niantic has tried to encourage players to return to in-person raids by removing Remote Raid Passes from the PokeCoin Event Crate from the in-game store and also increasing the cost of a Remote Raid Pass three-pack from 250 to 300 Pokemon. . However, as our own Eric Switzer writes, the move seemed “greedy and coercive.”
Steranka confirmed that Niantic has listened to Pokémon Go players on this issue. Remote raids will remain, but Niantic plans to hang more carrots to encourage players to get back out there, starting with this Saturday’s Community Day incentive.
“We definitely did everything we could to meet the players where they were, where they were forced to be because of the pandemic,” Steranka said. “Pokemon Go is about exploring the world around you. I think unfortunately the pendulum has swung too far to have the full Pokémon Go experience from the comfort of your couch. And that’s not where we want to be as a product.
“Our focus will generally be to introduce new functions and features to promote [in-person play]instead of retiring remote raids, which we know players have loved over the last couple of years,” he added.
In other Pokémon Go news, Ultra Beasts from Pokémon Sun and Moon are coming to Pokémon Go Fest. Each city will get its own Ultra Beast, with Berlin offering festival goers the chance to meet Pheromosa, Seattle the chance to meet Buzzwole, and Sapporo attendees the chance to catch Xurkitree. In-person attendees will be offered a new type of Poke Ball called the Beast Ball that will help Trainers catch an Ultra Beast as part of a special research during the event.
