Pokemon Go Is Removing A Fan-Favourite Feature

Over the course of the pandemic, Pokemon Go had some changes to make. It was no surprise that developers Niantic were going to have to make some bold innovations to the game as COVID-19 swept the world, as their brand of world-traversal gameplay would have to be put on hold slightly.

To keep the game from collapsing, Niantic elected to allow players to continue to claim rewards from their sofas and zeroed in on step counters, meaning that players simply washing their dishes or wandering around their home could still reap the rewards of every other day on Pokemon Go. But now, Niantic is making more changes, and players aren’t happy.

Niantic Remove COVID-19 Features From Pokemon Go

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As part of a mass rollback beginning in the United States and New Zealand, Niantic is to start removing the features they had introduced to make the game easier to play from home. Incense will lose its bonus effectiveness that brought Pokemon closer and more frequently, and the number of gifts brought to you by your Pokemon will be reduced dramatically, reducing the number of Pokeballs you can get without leaving your house.

But the most dramatic change coming back to the game is that players are going to need to get much closer to PokeStops and Gyms in order to interact with them. Their distances were hugely changed to accommodate for social distancing and those who were nearby to gyms when at home, but now you’re going to have to get a little closer to reap the rewards of the PokeStops and Gyms in-game.

This feature’s removal has bothered a lot of Pokemon Go players, as the removal of these ease-of-access features could actually end up putting people at risk. Still, the feature’s removals are being trialled in the US and New Zealand, so if enough fans kick off, there’s a chance they could stick around for a little longer. Only time will tell, but in the meantime, we’ll enjoy leeching from the PokeStop just down the road we can reach from our sofa.