For a game that prides itself on encouraging outdoor and social play, Pokémon Go has been forced to make drastic changes over the last several months in order to account for recent global events. With social distancing and lockdown measures still ongoing around many parts of the world due to COVID-19, Trainers have had to stay home when they’d otherwise be spinning Poké Stops and battling in gyms, essentially making certain core gameplay elements inaccessible.
But credit where it’s due, Niantic has been incredibly quick off the mark to provide alternative methods for players to go about their daily in-game business while staying safe at the same time. The lowering of walking distance required to hatch eggs, relaxation of proximity needed to interact with Poké Stops and the introduction of Remote Raid Passes have helped keep the hobby of Catching ‘Em All alive for millions, but where does that leave live events such as annual festivals?
Given the circumstances, large-scale gatherings of people are impossible, ruling out a repeat of last year’s Go Fests in Chicago, Dortmund and Yokohama. A necessary decision, no doubt, but it’s not all bad news. As an alternative, Niantic plans to bring players a “totally reimagined Pokémon Go Fest experience” that will be available to everyone regardless of location in a virtual format.
The two-day event will run between July 25th and 26th, with ticket holders being granted full access to the benefits provided on both days. As for what exactly this reimagined celebration of all things Pokémon will entail, the developer isn’t quite ready to lay its cards on the table, though the usual helping of bonuses, special encounters, Research tasks and more will be par for the course.
We’ll be keeping an eye out on Niantic’s socials for any and all updates for this year’s Pokémon Go Fest in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
