\nPok\u00e9mon GO will raise the price of remote raid passes<\/br>
\n2023-03-31 22:10:51<\/br><\/p>\n
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\n\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nPok\u00e9mon GO is raising the price of remote raid passes, the mobile game announced today. Players used to be able to buy one pass for 100 coins (about $1) or three passes for 250 coins (about $2.50), but the cost of these items will nearly double to 195 coins for one pass, or 525 coins for three passes. Players will now be able to participate in only five raids per day.<\/p>\n
Raid battles are a key component in Pok\u00e9mon GO, requiring players to meet up at a set location in real life to battle an extra strong or rare Pok\u00e9mon. When much of the world went into lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote raid passes were initially introduced to enable people to participate in raid battles from afar\u2026and to give its parent company Niantic another income stream. As of last year, Pok\u00e9mon GO surpassed the milestone of $6 billion<\/a> in revenue from in-app purchases.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe believe this change is necessary for the long-term health of the game, and we do not make it lightly,\u201d the Pok\u00e9mon GO team wrote in a blog post. \u201cWe feel this is a necessary step toward our goal of preserving and improving the unique experience of playing Pok\u00e9mon GO.\u201d<\/p>\n Niantic\u2019s AR-based mobile games are designed to encourage users to explore the world around them, and remote raid passes may seem to contradict that mission \u2014 there\u2019s less reason to meet up with other players outside when you can play the game from home. But the feature also made the game more accessible to people who may have mobility issues or other limitations that prevent them from going out to catch \u2019em all.<\/p>\n We saw some of this last year when they completely redid the whole “box economy” and made boxes contain far less for far more money, and it showed in revenue and user retention<\/p>\n I love playing Pok\u00e9mon GO, but I don’t know if it can come back from this repeated erosion of trust.<\/p>\n \u2014 Joe Merrick (@JoeMerrick) March 30, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Niantic made significant changes to Pok\u00e9mon GO at the beginning of the pandemic, like making it easier to interact with Pok\u00e9Stops or gyms from afar. The game also tried to roll back that feature in August 2021, which prompted Pok\u00e9mon GO influencers to threaten a boycott<\/a> of the game. Niantic ended up scrapping that plan after the backlash.<\/p>\n As one of the most profitable mobile games ever, Pok\u00e9mon GO itself isn\u2019t particularly desperate for cash. But it seems like Niantic could be facing headwinds. The company was valued at $9 billion<\/a> in November 2021, when the company openly bashed Meta and declared it would build a \u201creal-world metaverse,\u201d but like many tech companies, the company conducted layoffs<\/a> last year and canceled four projects.<\/p>\n Pok\u00e9mon GO plays a vital role in Niantic\u2019s growth beyond its contributions as a cash cow. Niantic\u2019s plans to build its \u201cAR metaverse\u201d rely on its trove of AR location data, which Pok\u00e9mon GO has been instrumental in building \u2014 players get in-game bonuses if they scan real-life locations in AR. Players don\u2019t need to share AR scans to play Pok\u00e9mon GO, but perhaps they\u2019re more likely to do so if they\u2019re playing the game outside of their home.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n <\/br><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n\n