Consternation as players summoned back to gyms and PokeStops after pandemic-induced relaxation of rules
The developer of Pokémon Go is facing a player revolt after rolling back safety measures implemented at the onset of the pandemic last year.
Niantic, the Google subsidiary which released the smash hit mobile game in 2016, had reacted to the onset of the pandemic by tweaking how its games work. The introduction of social distancing and stay-at-home orders around the world made it hard to play the company’s augmented reality (AR) games as intended, since they task players with leaving their homes and visiting local landmarks to catch Pokémon, gather items, and fight for regional dominance.
