Games all across the industry felt the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, but one game that especially had to adapt was Pokemon GO. With its emphasis on going outside and meeting with people, Pokemon GO had to make some big adjustments to the game for it to function during the pandemic.
Pokemon GO recently announced that it would be starting to revert some of those changes, namely the ones that let players engage with the game more without leaving their homes. The Pokemon GO community has largely spoken out against the reverting of these changes, while developer Niantic has started detailing some of the other updates and changes coming to the game as it approaches its annual GO Fest.
One change recently announced to be revered, however, is the return of in-person events for the upcoming GO Fest. Previous GO Fests featured in-person events where players could register to attend and catch rare Pokemon, socialize with other players, and get some exclusive gear for the game while they were there. With the pandemic in 2020, all in-person event were cancelled, but Niantic announced that they are coming back in a limited capacity this year. However, the in-person events will not change anything in-game for attendees, so all players who purchase the $5 in-game ticket can still take part in Pokemon GO's other celebrations of the event equally.
All of the in-person events will occur on July 17 from 10 am to 6 pm local time in 20 cities across the world. Niantic has said that the events will have a limited capacity compared to last year, will be completely outdoors, and that social distancing recommendations will be followed throughout the events. As for what players can expect from the events, Niantic has said that they will not have as much going on as previous years and will focus more on smaller attractions like photo opportunities while catching the event's special Pokemon costumes in Pokemon GO. The list of cities with in-person events are:
Europe
- Linz, AT
- Dresden, DE
- Essen, DE
- Hamburg, DE
- Sevilla, ES
- Paris, FR
- Warsaw, PL
- Bristol, UK
- Edinburgh, UK
- Liverpool, UK
- London, UK
United States
- San Francisco, CA
- Denver, CO
- Atlanta, GA
- Chicago, IL
- Indianapolis, IN
- New York City, NY
- Nashville, TN
- Austin, TX
- Seattle, WA
- Washington, D.C.
Asia-Pacific
- Auckland, NZ
Any players interested in attending one of the in-person events should apply for a spot as soon as possible, as the limited attendance numbers could lead to the events filling up rather quickly. However, it is good to see Pokemon GO returning to where it was before the pandemic started, and hopefully, Niantic will reconsider some of the changes that the game's community are so ardently opposed to. Either way, there are a lot of other big changes coming to Pokemon GO for fans to get excited about and look forward to.
Pokemon GO is available now on Android and iOS.
Source: Pokemon GO