For some players (myself included), the desire to play Pokémon Go was completely gone with the change. We all became so used to the longer range and benefits it offered that the game started to feel unplayable with the shorter 40-meter range.
Thankfully, Niantic made a statement in a tweet addressing the situation where it said it was reverting the change, bringing the range back to 80 meters.
Not only did the company revert the change, but it sounds like Niantic has some other exciting news to announce for Pokémon Go players on September 1. Whether these will be more pandemic-friendly changes or general tweaks to the gameplay remains to be seen, but the important thing is that the company has changed its mind and made the game enjoyable and safe for the pandemic again.
Thank you to everyone who made your voices heard. We’ve heard you and understand that this has been a welcome benefit to many players. We’ll share more next week.
I tested the change with a gym that used to be accessible from my home, and I was able to interact with it again, so it does appear that Niantic has already implemented the change.
