"Pokemon Go" is releasing a massive update this summer, and as confirmed by Niantic, it will bring some of the most requested features into the game.
In an interview with Brazilian news outlet O Globo, as reported by Polygon, Niantic's vice president for strategic partnerships Mathieu de Fayet revealed what's in store for fans in the upcoming "Pokemon Go" summer update.
"We are working on some new features for next summer [in the Northern Hemisphere], [like] how to give more value to the choice of the teams, the release of Legendary Pokemon and battles between players," de Fayet said. He also explained that these features were initially scheduled for release earlier, but Niantic had to postpone it due to the massive success attained by "Pokemon Go" upon its launch.
After years of working on the augmented reality game "Ingress," Niantic has learned how important social interaction is and how vital it is to the future of "Pokemon Go."
In an official blog post, Niantic said users can look forward to "all new cooperative social gameplay experiences." Researchers at The Silph Road forum on Reddit also believe that Niantic will achieve this through upgraded gym features and time-sensitive raids.
According to a Reddit user named eskimo9, the updated code for "Pokemon Go" seems to include lines about "nearby raids" and gym updates. The code suggests that the game will notify players whenever there's a raid taking place in close vicinity.
As for the gym update, Redditors speculate that it might have something to do with how long a Pokemon can hold on to a gym. There are lines of code indicating that Pokemon may be removed from a gym by other players.
Fans have been outspoken about their dissatisfaction with the current gym structure on "Pokemon Go," which appear more one-sided than players are hoping for.
