Niantic has finally commented onPokemon GO’s Remote Raids, one of the most talked about issues this year by the game’s community.Pokemon GOhas faced its share of controversy over the years, with players dissatisfied at different times. Remote Raids have, however, become a prominent issue inPokemon GO’s history, generating a big commotion.
Pokemon GO’s essence is to go out to interact with the game’s content, which was impossible because of the pandemic.Pokemon GOintroduced remote passes, allowing the community to continue playing without leaving home during a difficult time. A few years later the world returned to normalcy, and Niantic decided to adjustPokemon GO’s Remote Raids, making pricing adjustments and limitations on the remote passes use. The decision, however, met with much dissatisfaction from somePokemon GOplayers.
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Speaking with Dot Esports,Pokemon GOdirector, Michael Steranka, and senior producer, John Funtanilla, broke their silence on the Remote Raids controversy. Steranka said that Niantic has taken note of the community’s backlash, but that the focus has been on introducing a slew of new features, like the arrival ofShadow Raids inPokemon GO. The director says that the adjustment of Remote Raids was a difficult decision to make, and reveals that remote passes were creating an unhealthy way for players to interact withPokemon GO. While Steranka didn’t give details about what “unhealthy behaviors” were happening, he emphasized that it wasn’t something aligned with the experience thePokemon GOteam was trying to create.
In addition to talking about the Remote Raids, Steranka said that Niantic has no plans to directly address things related to the HearUsNiantic movement. Some frustratedPokemon GOplayers created the HearUsNiantic movement in protest of the changes to Remote Raids, and the lack of feedback from Niantic. According to thePokemon GOdirector, Niantic does not plan to address the issue because it is sticking to its decision on Remote Raids. Funtanilla agreed with Steranka’s words and emphasized that thePokemon GOdevelopment teamis confident in the decision, hoping their actions will speak louder than words.
The statements by Michael Steranka and John Funtanilla are already generating debate amongPokemon GOplayers, with some players not being entirely convinced. Meanwhile,Pokemon GOcontinues to bring more new features in Season 10 Rising Heroes. In addition to announcing the debut of Shadow Raids in an event with Shadow Mewtwo available to players,Pokemon GOis finally adding Master Ballsjust before the game’s seventh anniversary.
Pokemon GOis available for Android and iOS.
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