Pokémon GO is celebrating its 7th anniversary, but it’s also going through a controversial year. What’s next? MeinMMO author Max Handwerk and MeinMMO author Franzi Korittke look at the topic.
Happy Birthday Pokemon GO! It’s definitely worth remembering: 7 years is a damn long time in the gaming world. To inspire so many players for so long and to provide them with beautiful moments, that’s a really great achievement.
And of course, even if the really big hype of the 2016 release was never reached in this form again: Pokémon GO has managed to keep a passionate player base.
Even in pandemic times, which were actually contrary to the game idea, Pokémon GO managed to stay alive.
For me, the game has been a perennial favorite on mobile since 2018, and I wouldn’t want to miss it.
Big events still manage to draw numerous players to parks. During raids, you can still encounter groups of players looking to snag a rare monster. And to this day, the game manages to generate a lot of emotions among Pokémon fans. The game can pat itself on the back for that.
But it is also true that the emotions of the players were not only positive this year. It’s Pokémon GO’s 7th anniversary, and the myth of that seven-year-hook-it-all when a relationship can suddenly get complicated seems to apply to the relationship between Pokémon GO and its community as well.
Pokémon GO is 7 years old – what does the future hold?
Waves of Pokémon, Arena battles, Raids, Mega Raids, Crypto Raids, Battle League, new features, new monsters, unforgettable events: Pokémon GO has done a lot right over the past few years. Otherwise the game would not have survived this long, Pokemon or not.
But at the same time there were always problems that hit the atmosphere around the game hard. This primarily affects the communication between the community and the developer.
Some recent examples:
The year 2023 in particular is a prime example of this: the unpopular decision regarding long-distance raids frustrated loud parts of the community, so that calls for a boycott were made and some of them were implemented.
In addition, community-driven projects collapsed, such as the Pokeminers or, most recently, the research center TheSilphRoad. The fact that such complex fan projects are turning their backs on the game cannot be a good sign.
The initial lack of communication from the developer on the subject continued to cause resentment, before it was then explained in interviews that the anger was understood, but that the path in the sense of one’s own vision was to be pursued.
Nevertheless, Niantic is optimistic. In an interview with game director Michael Steranka, the aim was to inspire the community with new features. If that works, great. But that’s a big step forward, and the community looks at errors even more critically.
Niantic will have to bring new features – or improvements to the gaming experience – one way or another. Because every game eventually wears out if no new stimuli are set.
The very basic principle of Pokémon GO has changed over the years – away from release waves full of Pokémon, towards an event-driven calendar that distributes new monsters in small portions. This keeps players engaged, but also comes with the risk that as a long-term player, you just don’t have that much to discover.
There are many such examples. So the Dark Flames event just came along, with the new Monster Tortunator. But that didn’t even spawn in the wild, but was behind raids. In the meantime, there was nothing new to discover in the wild – and Pokémon GO usually delivers individual monsters at other events as well.
The release of real waves of monsters to feed on for days to weeks by finding fresh monsters in the wild was a long time ago.
Accordingly, Pokémon GO must manage to convince with other aspects of the game. The crypto raids have just been added, and the showcases that have just appeared want to bring a breath of fresh air into the game.
In addition, Pokémon GO has the opportunity right now, with good summer weather, to convince players that “playing together outdoors” is really worth it, as Niantic’s vision states. You should use this opportunity to win back the good will of the fans – through fun features, but also through better communication with the community.
Events like the GO Fest featuring Mega Rayquaza are designed to excite players:
Mega Rayquaza appears in Pokémon GO
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Now there is the opportunity to build up a basis – and then to generate enthusiasm again. After all, everyone just wants to have fun with the game – and that would actually be a good birthday wish.
The Pokémon GO expert from MeinMMO, Franzi Korittke, also has an assessment:
What do you think of the current state of Pokémon GO? How should the game develop for you? Tell us in the comments!