Pokémon GO is rolling back pandemic based bonuses

Niantic has revealed that some of Pokémon GO’s measures to prevent pandemic spread are being rolled back, with others staying around for the future. 

In a new blog post, Niantic has revealed that Pokémon GO is going outside once more, rolling back some of the pandemic based bonuses now that vaccines are becoming available and case numbers are falling. 

Incense effectiveness is being scaled back to the standard level if you’re stationary so you can’t lure as many Pokémon towards your home, however, when moving, you will receive the increased effectiveness once more. 

Buddy Pokémon will also stop being as useful, with Niantic hoping this will encourage players to go outside to PokéStops once more to receive supplies rather than just relying on their trusty helper. 

Lastly, to help push you back outside, the distance of Pokéstop and Gym interactions are being reverted back to the standard distance, although this may be changed based in different regions and also during events. 

It’s not all bad news, however, as Niantic also revealed that they’ll be keeping several features such as the increased incense duration, no walking requirement for GO Battle League, the ability to challenge trainers remotely, and the boosted capacity for gifts that you can both open and carry.

On top of this, there will also be new features introduces such as exploration bonuses that make it more rewarding to play in the real world. These benefits include two free raid passes pre day for spinning Gym photo disks, better incense when moving, and better gifts when spinning PokéStops. 

Exploration Bonus Updates Coming to Pokémon GO: https://t.co/LF3EEPXVY5 pic.twitter.com/7YQqLmjN8l

— Pokémon GO (@PokemonGoApp) June 21, 2021

Niantic and the Pokémon GO team expect that “the path ahead will have some twists and turns” but they’re committed to being clear about how and why the game will evolve as we emerge from the Covid 19 pandemic.