Limited Remote Raid Passes May Spell the End of Pokemon GO
The most recent Pokemon GO update is looking to encourage trainers to meet up in person as restrictions continue to be completely lifted. While this sounds like a positive — since the game had largely become popular as a way for gamers to touch grass and interact in person pre-COVID — Pokemon fans are actually predicting that the game is dying.
To get Pokemon GO players to meet up in person again, Naintic limited the number of Remote Raid Passes and increased their in-game price. Remote Raid Passes allowed trainers to join nearby Raid Battles remotely. But instead of creating a more active community, Pokemon fans are pointing out that less people are participating in Raids than ever before.
The Tapu Bulu Raids have seen a decrease in player activity, according to watchful trainers. By using the Pokie Genie app, fans were able to see the low numbers of trainers participating in Tapu Bulu Raids. The reason? Trainers believe it’s because they can no longer participate remotely.
The entire thing became even more controversial when Elite Raids started rolling out. These limited-time events feature special Pokemon but players cannot use Remote Raid Passes to participate.
Joked one Pokemon GO player on Reddit: “Are you meaning to tell us that you don't have a huge local community full of active players that can raid with you at any time in a 6+ year old game?”
Said another: “Wait, you don’t have six friends in your local area who can drop their lives within a 30 minutes notice?”
Check out the conversation on Reddit
Is Pokemon GO Dying?
While the Pokemon community is full of jokes and memes about the frustrating Remote Raid Pass situation, many are actually quite concerned with the future of the game.
The community has been frustrated for a while now with underwhelming Community Days, repetitive Raids, poor spawn rates, and boring research tasks. With less players than ever before, the implementation of the limited Remote Raid Passes has seemed like a possible death sentence.
Niantic has not backtracked on its update at all, leaving fans worried and angry with the changes. Some have even argued that Niantic doesn’t care about the Pokemon fanbase at all and has become more preoccupied with its upcoming Monster Hunter Now game. Meanwhile, it doesn’t seem like they are in touch with what Pokemon players want at all.
Olivia is a long-time esports journalist and editor who covers just about every game but has a deep love for the FGC. Her goal is to find community-driven stories that bring a new perspective to the esports scene. In the past, she has worked for Team Liquid, Rogue, Inven Global, Dot Esports, Upcomer, and more. Outside of esports, Olivia enjoys Kirby, Pokemon TCG, Fallout, and writing science fiction. She can be found trying out new foods, traveling, or hanging out with her two orange cats. Fun fact: Olivia can do some video game and cartoon impressions!