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Niantic is removing various Pokemon Go COVID-19 changes

Although other new features will remain

Niantic is removing various Pokemon Go COVID-19 changes

Niantic will roll back on various changes that were made to Pokemon Go as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

As detailed in a site update, the American firm has confirmed that while some features will be modified, others will stay as they are.

"Over the past few months, we've been making temporary changes to Pokémon GO to adapt to the changing global environment," said Niantic.

"Some of these changes will remain implemented for the foreseeable future, such as the ability to raid remotely, changes to the GO Battle League, and the increased distance at which you can spin Photo Discs at Gyms and PokéStops."

To improve the player experience in Pokemon Go, Niantic will keep the maximum number of gifts users can carry at 20. Furthermore, trainers will continue to be awarded three times as much stardust and XP for their first catch of the day.

On top of this, the duration of incense will remain at 60 minutes.

You go

Meanwhile, as the Augmented Reality title is designed to encourage people to be outside, and within the COVID-19 government guidelines, changes will be made to certain aspects of the game.

First of all, the distance that needs to be walked to hatch eggs will be returned to normal. Moreover, the increased strength of incense will only be applied when the player is walking.

Furthermore, a trainer's Pokemon buddy will only bring gifts when the supply is running low, and this will only occur once a day. Speaking of gifts, players will still have a strong chance of receiving one from a pokestop, though this is not guaranteed.

Pokemon Go has benefitted from the coronavirus outbreak, as have many mobile titles due to people being stuck at home in lockdown. Furthermore, the Augmented Reality title is closing in on $4 billion in lifetime revenue.

By the end of the year, Pokemon Go and fellow mobile title Pokemon Home will be able to be linked together.


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Staff Writer

Kayleigh is the Staff Writer for PocketGamer.biz. Besides PGbiz and PCGI she has written as a list writer for Game Rant, rambling about any and all things games related. You can also find her on Twitter talking utter nonsense.