Developer Niantic has heard the community loud and clear. So, they are now reverting some of the pandemic changes removed from Pokémon GO last month, particularly the increased interaction radius of Pokéstops and Gyms.
After the fans threatened to boycott the game for reverting those changes, the company is now trying to appease the community by giving them what they want.
Due to the community uproar, they also created a special task force to oversee the Covid situation. This task force will determine what changes should be implemented.
The company tweeted that it will share its future plans based on the internal group’s findings next week.
However, the community does not have to wait that long to enjoy the increased base interaction radius for Pokéstops and Gyms after the company changed it back to 80 meters.
Trainers - we’re looking forward to sharing our plans as a result of the task force on September 1, but one thing does not have to wait! From now on, 80 meters will be the base interaction radius for PokéStops and Gyms globally. (1/2)
— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) August 25, 2021
In a follow-up tweet, the company thanked everyone for their input, and it will share more information on September 1.
This is great news for all trainers as Covid-19 cases worldwide have risen substantially in recent weeks. This should make the game enjoyable without putting players in danger of contracting the dreaded disease.
Fan Response
It seems that the fans are generally happy with the company’s recent move.
User @Amandain360 said that it is a good business practice to listen to people who put their money for the benefit of the company. They stopped buying in-game items due to the interaction distance issue. Now, they are thinking of purchasing them again after the change was reversed.
User @lordemperor_ said that the community must maintain this momentum as they have seen how working together can make a difference.
They added that the job is not over and cited some things that the company still has to work on. These include additional rural gameplay options, walking distance not updating more frequently, phantom hits, among many others.
While increasing the interaction distance for Pokéstops and Gyms is a good thing, user @ShinyCelebi15 said that this move is too little, too late. The user went on to say that Covid is not over and that the company has to do better.
It is nice that community uproar can change a company’s direction for the better. What do you think? Is increasing the interaction distance enough? Should the company add more quality-of-life changes?
