Skip to main content
The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

What do fans most want from ‘Pokemon Go’? To be heard by the game’s maker.

(Washington Post illustration; Chris Helgren; Reuters)

Since “Pokémon Go” first released in 2016, the popular augmented-reality game has sent players to roam the streets in search of digital monsters. But, recently, fans of the game have been frustrated by updates they said willfully ignore feedback from the community. In their most recent disagreement, the distance between the players and the game’s developer could be measured at exactly 40 meters.

To collect items required in the game, players must travel within a certain distance of a PokéStop, in-game locations tied to real-world landmarks like a trailhead or nearby monument. During the covid-19 pandemic, Niantic increased the minimum distance to interact with PokéStops from 40 meters to 80 to better accommodate players navigating lockdowns and public health mandates. On Aug. 1, with those mandates no longer in place, Niantic returned the limit to the original 40 meters to encourage players to explore the outdoors again.

Instead, players voiced their outrage. Tens of thousands of fans signed a petition to keep the distance at which users could interact with stops at 80 meters. #HearUsNiantic began to trend on Twitter. Creators vowed to stop spending money on the app. Longtime players and content creators, some of whom have built their livelihood around “Pokémon Go,” said the August update made the game unnecessarily tedious to play. More importantly, they felt Niantic had ignored fans who said the settings set during the pandemic made “Pokémon Go” a better game for a larger group of players.

'Pokémon Legends Arceus’ will change the franchise's familiar formula

Michael Steranka, the product marketing director for “Pokémon Go,” said the team at Niantic never expected fans to be this upset by the 40-meter change. For Niantic, the decision to set “Pokémon Go’s” locations to 40 meters was meant to encourage fans to explore the various landmarks around them, rather than depend on one or two nearby.

Steranka said Niantic heard the feedback from players “loud and clear.” And earlier this week, Niantic announced that fans could once again connect to PokeStops and Gyms from up to 80 meters away.

“A company actually listened to a community,” one Reddit user wrote in response to the news.

“Bullying works,” another replied.

In any event, the prevailing sentiment from disgruntled players forced Niantic to pivot from its intended vision. Steranka refers to “north star metrics” that tell the company whether “Pokémon Go” is becoming the game they intended to create.

“You know, we also have our own priorities that we’re trying to elevate,” Steranka said. “It always boils down to: Are we getting people outside and exploring? Are we getting people to go and exercise? Are we connecting people in the real world?”

In some ways, it’s the type of ethos that drives fitness trackers, like FitBit, to reward users who stay active throughout the day.

“Hanging out in real life is the foundation Niantic was built on,” the company’s chief executive John Hanke wrote in May. “We founded Niantic to create a way for people to go outside, explore, exercise, and meet friends”

The difference between 40 meters and 80 is roughly the difference between the distance of a respectable field goal attempt in football and an entire football field. Steranka says that from 40 meters away you’re still able to see that public fountain or memorial you traveled to. The team at Niantic believed that doubling the radius to 80 meters dilutes that sense of discovery.

“The reason why we have PokéStops and Gyms that are based on real world locations is because we feel like people have lost touch of the world around them,” Steranka said. “You might not know that there’s a rich piece of history in your own neighborhood.”

I paid $100 to win in ‘Pokémon Unite.’ The results were mixed.

Some fans believe Niantic has an ulterior motive: money. Businesses, like Starbucks, can pay Niantic to turn their storefront into an in-game location, giving players a reason to walk through the door. The theory is that the companies paying for these sponsorships don’t want players to reap the rewards from across the street. Niantic said sponsored locations had “no impact” on the decision to change the radius. Steranka said the update was always about returning the game to the company’s mission.

Steranka said the events of the past month — the update, the backlash on Twitter and an open letter from creators chastising the company — is about more than 40 meters. It’s about a failure to communicate. Longtime fans don’t believe Niantic listens to them.

Players told The Post the 40-meter update was just the “last straw” in a series of annoying run-ins with the company. A year ago, creators wrote another open letter to Niantic with a detailed list of game-breaking bugs in “Pokémon Go’s” player-versus-player mode.

Fans agree that Niantic could do a better job at responding to feedback.

“I just don’t like that Niantic treats us poorly sometimes,” said Ryan Brown, who’s based in Wisconsin and creates tip guides for the game. “It’s just like the culmination of all these different grievances.”

In Battle League, the once buggy PVP mode, Niantic required players to walk a certain distance or pay 200 in-game coins to compete in more than one set of matches a day. Some fans said they’ve been frustrated by forced mechanics that require players to grind tedious tasks or pay money to play more.

Players can spend money in “Pokémon Go” to buy items or participate in remote raids — challenging Pokémon battles that let players fight together without having to travel to a certain landmark. Five years after it first released, “Pokémon Go” is still one of the top grossing mobile games worldwide. Last year, “Pokémon Go” generated a record $1.3 billion in revenue from player spending, according to analytics firm Sensor Tower. And, in July the company passed $5 billion in total revenue from in-app purchases.

“It seems like they’ve been progressively monetizing more aspects of the game,” Brown, 30, said.

Kaito Nolan, a “Pokémon Go” creator who plays the game with her son in Irving, Texas, said she stopped spending money on “Pokémon Go” when Niantic changed the game in August. Before the update, Nolan, 34, said she’d spend anywhere from $2,000-$3,000 dollars a month on in-game items

Steranka said the latest changes to “Pokémon Go” have nothing to do with revenue but, he added the team understands “how players may arrive at that misconception.” Steranka said the team at Niantic spends a lot of time trying to “strike the right balance” around creating a game that is fun to play outside rather than at home.

“I think there’s always going to be a natural tension in game design for a game like this,” Steranka said. “When ‘Pokémon Go’ first launched, it was such a bizarre concept.”

There’s more news yet to come. Niantic formed a task force to respond to the backlash this month and the company with announce their next steps for the game by Sept. 1. Steranka said the plan will relate to “exploration,” including adding “different bonuses and incentives to get players to real world locations again.” He also said it would focus on “player communication.”

“Moving forward, I do see us improving the way we communicate with players so that we’re in a better, healthier relationship,” Steranka said. “We really, truly care about our communities.”

Read more:

Pokémon Presents showcases ambitious changes to the formula in ‘Pokémon Legends Arceus’

Blizzard to change beloved ‘Overwatch’ hero’s name in wake of harassment lawsuit

Eleven tips to master ‘Pokémon Unite,’ Nintendo’s latest MOBA

Loading...