UPDATE 6/8/21: Pokémon Go developer Niantic has responded to yesterday’s community-wide outcry over its removal of the game’s extended interaction distance in the US and New Zealand.
Niantic’s lengthy blog acknowledges the community’s concerns, but again underlines just how important the removal of extended interaction distance seems to be to the company. Even in the face of enormous community pressure, there is no quick U-turn here.
However, Niantic has said it will, with a bit of time, look further into the matter with an internal team and community leaders – with findings to be shared by the game’s next season change on 1st September.
Remembering Pokémon Go’s remarkable first summer (5th anniversary video) Watch on YouTube
“We have heard your input loud and clear and so to address the concerns you have raised, we are taking the following actions,” Niantic wrote. “We are assembling an internal cross-functional team to develop proposals designed to preserve our mission of inspiring people to explore the world together, while also addressing specific concerns that have been raised regarding interaction distance.”