Niantic has finally commented on Pokemon GO's Remote Raids, one of the most talked about issues this year by the game's community. Pokemon GO has faced its share of controversy over the years, with players dissatisfied at different times. Remote Raids have, however, become a prominent issue in Pokemon 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 GO introduced 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 adjust Pokemon GO's Remote Raids, making pricing adjustments and limitations on the remote passes use. The decision, however, met with much dissatisfaction from some Pokemon GO players.
Speaking with Dot Esports, Pokemon GO director, 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 of Shadow Raids in Pokemon 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 with Pokemon GO. While Steranka didn't give details about what "unhealthy behaviors" were happening, he emphasized that it wasn't something aligned with the experience the Pokemon GO team 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 frustrated Pokemon GO players created the HearUsNiantic movement in protest of the changes to Remote Raids, and the lack of feedback from Niantic. According to the Pokemon GO director, 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 the Pokemon GO development team is confident in the decision, hoping their actions will speak louder than words.
The statements by Michael Steranka and John Funtanilla are already generating debate among Pokemon GO players, with some players not being entirely convinced. Meanwhile, Pokemon GO continues 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 GO is finally adding Master Balls just before the game's seventh anniversary.
Pokemon GO is available for Android and iOS.
Source: Dot Esports