Niantic has issued a statement regarding PokeStop distance.
At the start of August, Pokemon GO has reverted some COVID Response Bonuses as they said they would during a previous update. This was done in the US and New Zealand. They have then implemented Explorations Bonuses to encourage players to go outside and reconnect with the game and real world locations.
This has made many Pokemon GO players upset and even implement boycotts to various degrees.
Because of this, Niantic has issued a statement regarding the outcry from Pokemon GO players. They did state the reason why they implemented the Exploration Bonuses. Some of these reasons included encouraging outdoor exploration as per Niantic’s mission. They also cited that research has stated that being outside is safe. It should be noted that being outdoors in large crowds could put you at risk.
Though, Niantic has promise to look into what players have been saying and are taking the following actions for now. Below is what they will do for the time being.
- Assemble an internal cross-functional team to develop proposals that keep to Niantic’s mission while addressing the concern over PokeStop interaction distance.
- Reach out to community leaders to take part in the dialogue of the current issue.
Niantic has promised that they will share their findings by the time of the next season change in Pokemon GO on September 1st.
You can read their full statement by clicking here.
