pokemon go
The Pokémon Company
  • "Pokemon Go" reverted a positive pandemic change, changing the distance on Pokestops and Gyms.
  • Some players aren't happy with this change, with some saying they will no longer spend their own money on the title.
  • Niantic has responded to the claims from players, writing that they want players to keep exploring.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

A vocal group of "Pokemon Go" players have taken to social media to share their distaste with recent changes to the monster-catching mobile title. The hashtag "#NianticHearUs" has been spreading throughout Twitter, calling out the action from the developer and asking them to revert the changes added to make playing in the pandemic safer.

Launched in 2016, "Pokemon Go" took the collecting experience made popular in the franchises' main titles and brought it into the real world, forcing players to get up off their couches to catch creatures. The game is one of the highest-grossing apps for mobile devices and earned $642 million in the first half of 2021, according to the data collection platform Store Intelligence.

On August 1, developer Niantic released a new update that rolled back some of the perks and features that were added in the pandemic to make the game easier. To interact with Pokestops or Gyms, players now have to be within 40 meters, or around 131 feet, instead of the 80 meters, or around 262 feet, that was allowed in 2020. The original change was in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing players to socially distance themselves while playing the game more efficiently.

The company announced the changes back in June and told Polygon in a statement that "we're going to revert the expanded interaction distance in countries and regions where it makes sense to help restore the focus of the game on exploration and discovery."

The company also released its own blog post on August 5, writing that the changes were added "because we want people to connect to real places in the real world, and to visit places that are worth exploring."

"Pokemon Go" players are upset with the change and want the developer to revert it

After the change was implemented, players took to social media to share their grievances. Threads on "Pokemon Go'' themed subreddits like r/SiplhRoad and r/PokemonGo have pulled in thousands of upvotes and Twitter users have been quite vocal, saying that they will no longer spend real-world money on the title.

A petition on Change.Org asking to keep the increased distance on Pokestops and Gyms has pulled in over 194,000 signatures since launching in June.

Still, it's unsure if this movement will change anything. Over the weekend, "Pokemon Go" is hosting its highly anticipated Eevee Community Day, allowing trainers to catch as many of the brown furry creatures as possible. This is only the second time the monster with eight different evolutions to collect has had a Community Day, making those few hours it pops up more in the wild more valuable.

Read the original article on Insider