Pokémon GO Players Are Boycotting The Game After Niantic Removes COVID Changes

Incensed.

 

 

Over the past few months, Niantic — makers of Pokémon GO — have been rolling back the changes they made to the game for players affected by the global pandemic (read: all of them). Yesterday, they specifically removed the increased interaction range for various points of interest in the US and New Zealand — the former of which is experiencing a surge in COVID cases.

 

 

The pandemic changes to Pokémon GO were focused on safety and accessibility, increasing the distance at which players could interact with PokéStops and gyms, and making sure that players weren't required to leave the house in order to obtain key items like the Pokémon-summoning Incense.

 

 

 

 

While some of the features, like increased Incense duration and remote battles, will be kept in the game, the removal of many of the other features has drawn the ire of the Pokémon GO community — including some of its biggest names.

 

 

Trainers with huge followings, like Leek Duck, ZoëTwoDots, and Brandon Tan took to Twitter to express their discontent through a community-penned letter:

 

 

 

In the letter, the community members voiced their "disappointment" over Niantic's decision to remove the changes, specifically the reduction of the interaction range. According to the letter, the wider interaction radius contributed to a safer, more accessible, and more respectful way to play the game, which didn't require entering dangerous areas, trespassing, or blocking entrances.

 

 

Read the full article on nintendolife.com