In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Niantic made some changes to the popular franchise Pokemon Go, so that players could make progression even when they were restricted to the confines of their home. These changes included joining raids from a far distance, getting free daily gifts, and shorter distance requirements for hatching eggs in the game. Keeping in mind the uncertain future, some of these changes will be made permanent, others removed permanently while remaining will be tweaked keeping in mind the current situation.
Niantic will retain bonuses like the maximum number of gifts that the player can carry in the bag which is limited to 20. Likewise, the first catch of the day will earn players three times the Stardust and XP. The incense that attracts Pokemon will still remain for 60 minutes in the game.
Similarly, there will be some changes restored back to normal from October 1. For example, the hatch distance for eggs will be brought back to normal. The same as it was before the pandemic. The update is also going to bring back the ability of your Pokemon to bring gifts when you’re short of them, and it’s going to happen only once a day. The changes in procuring a gift at PokeStop will also increase like all times.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Niantic was forced to cancel events like Pokemon Go Fest and Safari Zones. Now they are looking for a window in 2021 to reschedule these events which players would love. As they said, “we’re continuously monitoring the ever-evolving global situation and are working hard to reschedule previously planned live events to 2021.”
