Niantic has issued a response to fans over complaints surrounding the company's decision to reduce the in-game extended range feature for Pokestop interactions in Pokemon Go. The developer says it will form a committee, consult with community members, and deliver a further response by September.
Fans have directed anger at Niantic after it reverted pandemic-related changes to the game, most prominently the distance at which Pokestops can be intereacted with. For a game that prides itself on its community-based gameplay and the size of its fanbase, the company had been silent over the issue for some time, leading to a widely-shared open letter from players. Niantic has finally offered a response to the community, which was published on the studio's blog.
In the response, Niantic explained that its decision to revert the interaction distance from 80 meters back to 40 meters was made because it wants "people to connect to real places in the real world, and to visit places that are worth exploring."
Niantic then went on to say that it has heard the community "loud and clear" surrounding the changes to the Pokestop Gym interaction distance. The studio acknowledged the concerns raised by the community before explaining what further action it will take. The team said, "We are assembling an internal cross-functional team to develop proposals designed to preserve our mission of inspiring people to explore the world together, while also addressing specific concerns that have been raised regarding interaction distance."
As part of the process, Niantic said "we will also be reaching out to community leaders in the coming days to join us in this dialogue". This will take place before the studio shares its findings by September 1. It is unclear at this stage what proposals could be implemented into the game or to what degree these will satisfy the community. However, fans of Pokemon Go will be hoping that community leaders' concerns are listened to and addressed sooner rather than later.
The increased interaction distance feature was introduced last year as a way to allow the community to keep playing Pokemon Go from the safety of their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The in-game feature improved player safety and accessibility within the game and has been praised by the community and creators alike. Fans of the title took to social media in full force asking for Niantic to reconsider removing the feature from the game. You can see the community's open letter in a tweet below or read our previous article on the story for further context.
Dear @NianticLabs @PokemonGoApp @johnhanke @Pokemon,
The Pokémon GO Community has been waiting patiently for an answer in the last few days, but sadly, many trainers have walked away. We seek your attention & respond as the Community really needs it now.#HearUsNiantic #PokemonGO pic.twitter.com/mpcJtJI9Jo— BrandonTan91 #HearUsNiantic (@brandontan91) August 5, 2021
Jared Moore is a freelance writer for IGN. He can sometimes be found pacing up and down long stretches of road hunting for his favorite Pokemon. You can follow him on Twitter.