Hamburg – Almost two years ago, Corona broke out and forced the modern world into a lockdown of this magnitude for the first time. All of a sudden, people weren’t allowed outside and had to abide by distance and hygiene rules. This meant economic death for some companies and could also have been the end for Pokémon GO. After all, the app is based on the principles of exploration, movement, and social interaction. However, thanks to strong gameplay customization, Pokémon GO even enjoyed an increase in players. Now, however, developer Niantic is reversing all steps and forcing players to play outside again. Philip Marz, Head of Regional Marketing at Niantic, explains why.

Pokémon GO: Developer wants to get players to go outside – gameplay back to basics

Players* should go out again: With Corona and the different regulations, Niantic faced a difficult challenge with Pokémon GO. How could they ensure that a game meant to be played outdoors would suddenly become playable from indoors? The solution: they adapted the gameplay. Local events were held worldwide and extended, long-distance raid passes were introduced, swap distances were shortened, and items like smoke and lock modules were buffed.

These were all changes to Pokémon GO’s gameplay that were well received by players*. Philip Marz confirmed to us in an interview in Hamburg that the number of players for Corona had even increased. No wonder, after all, with all the free time, due to lockdowns, you could continue to play at least one of your favorite games. But in the meantime, the changes to the gameplay are being rolled back again. For example, the smoke in Pokémon GO has been generated and long-distance Raid Passes have become more expensive.

Pokémon GO wants to force you to go outside

The three principles of Pokémon GO: Marz cites the three principles of Pokémon GO as the reason for the gameplay changes. For example, the game was developed in 2016 to cover the principles of discovering, moving, and social interaction. Players should therefore go outside to play, move through the world and, in the best case, meet other trainers. By changing the gameplay, the developer now wants to return to the core principles.

After all, the game was made to serve exactly these three elements. Thus Marz says: “[Die Corona-]Bonuses have always been defined as temporary bonuses.“So it was probably never the developer’s plan to make the gameplay changes permanent in Pokémon GO.

Pokémon GO: Developer wants to encourage players* to play the game according to the basic idea

Unhappy about changes: Many players* are upset about these changes to Pokémon GO. After all, it was convenient to be able to play from home. Especially trainers who may not have a large Pokémon GO community near them or are not so good at going outside, for example because of an illness, were finally able to take full advantage of the game and participate in raids with strong opponents. After all, you can’t just beat a level 5 raid by yourself.

So we asked Philip Marz in the interview in Hamburg how he sees the emotional situation of the trainers*:

Certain changes always bring frustration. At the end of the day, we [Niantic, Anm. d. Red.] but it is important to us that we keep the core principles […] and what the game is made for, [in den Vordergrund stellen].

For many players, the changes to the Corona bonuses may feel like a disadvantage, but for Niantic, playing together and outside has added value, Marz said. So the developer wants to focus entirely on trainers* playing Pokémon GO the way it was meant to be played in 2016. Remote players seem to be getting the short end of the stick.

Niantic’s plans: However, the developer also wants to respond to the wishes and feedback of the players*. For this reason, Niantic has already entered into a partnership with the fan community Silph Road, which is active on Reddit. The social app Campfire has also been launched and is intended to help trainers network better. After all, Pokémon GO should run for at least 10, 15 years or even longer, according to Marz.