Some ‘Pokemon GO’ Players Are Boycotting After Niantic Rolled Back Pandemic-Era Changes

The coronavirus pandemic is still ongoing, as the Delta variant of the virus has made even vaccinated people uneasy about their health and safety across the world. While millions hoped vaccines could help bring an end to the restrictions many have put on their lives over the last year-plus, things haven’t quite returned to normal just yet.

Which is why many mobile gaming fans are furious that one of their favorites games has rolled back some changes that helped make playing amid a pandemic easier. Pokemon GO, one of the most popular (and lucrative) mobile games on the planet, recently celebrated its fifth anniversary. The game has some die-hard fans, including one who got caught violating lockdown measures in Italy to play. But Niantic introduced some important changes to the game to help people play while largely staying at home.

There are three main things players need to do in the game each day: catch Pokemon, spin PokeStops and complete “research” tasks. Niantic made that easier last spring by allowing people to “spin” those PokeStops much further away from their real world locations and easing restrictions on a number of other things in the game. They also let players do more things like raid and battle remotely. The changes were great for people who were no longer commuting, traveling or, well, leaving their homes for long stretches. But what’s more, they were celebrated by players with disabilities and others who may have struggled to play in crowded places or navigate real-world obstacles to get to PokeStops and Gyms.

But last month, Niantic announced it would be rolling back many of those changes. As The Verge detailed, those changes were undone earlier in the week and have made it a bit more difficult to play.

The distance you’ll need to be from real-world locations is effectively halved as part of the new update, going from a maximum of 80 meters (around 262 feet) to interact with a Pokéstop, to the game’s original 40 meters (around 131 feet), according to Dot Esports. There were multiple reasons for Niantic to double the distance originally, from reducing crowding during a pandemic, to just making it a bit easier to collect items without theoretically having to leave your house. The change didn’t reinvent the game but players viewed increasing the interaction distance as a valuable accessibility improvement that’s now gone.

The complaints from gamers are summed up in two categories: the pandemic isn’t over, and the changes that were rolled back don’t do much to actually change the game in any meaningful way from a competitive standpoint. Which is why many were confused by the decision to roll things back.

That frustration has turned into a boycott for some, which was executed on Thursday by gamers that made #PokemonNoDay trend on Twitter during the day.

It’s a difficult thing to manage for Niantic, which has long stressed movement and exploration with Pokemon GO. But those that are upset about the changes certainly have reasons to make their voices heard here, especially from an accessibility standpoint. Whether Niantic can strike the right balance between the two perspectives will be interesting to see, but it’s clear that some of the game’s most loyal fans wanted to make it clear they’re not happy this week.