There have been rumors of a significant drop in the number of players participating in Pokemon GO raids. Pokemon GO offers a variety of content on a regular basis to keep players engaged. Still, the Pokemon GO community seems to be feeling the effects of one of the most controversial changes Niantic has made this year.
The changes to Pokemon GO’s Remote Raids came after a very frustrating announcement for players in early April. The tweaks Niantic made included increasing the price of the Ranged Pass and limiting participation in Ranged Raids. According to Niantic, these changes are meant to rebalance the game and ensure Pokemon GO continues to be loved by players for years to come.
Now there are new rumors that the number of Pokemon GO players participating in Remote Raids has dropped significantly. Pokebattler, a Pokemon GO stats and raid tracking site, reported a 54.75% drop in traffic to its website and app between April 6 and April 28. Pokebattler is a fan project with no affiliation with Niantic, so players should take this information with a grain of salt. Even though it’s not an official Pokemon GO project, Pokebattler’s website and app are widely used by players, especially during large events and raids period. The site offers features such as gym battle simulations, PvP simulations, and Team Rocket counters in Pokemon GO.
In comments to the Twitter thread, other users lamented the site’s decline. Some also commented on how changes in Pokebattler numbers reflect the current state of their community. One Twitter user even reported that fewer people in their community were interested in ranged raids, and not necessarily more players engaged in in-person raids. The Remote Raids changes caused so much displeasure within the Pokemon GO community that players went one step further and decided to say goodbye to Pokemon GO for good.
Although Pokebattler is not the official Pokemon GO website, its popularity is high. So it shouldn’t be surprising if players see the decline in the number of sites as evidence of the impact Pokemon GO’s ranged raids have suffered. Niantic has yet to officially talk about the player demos, nor has it indicated any reversals of the changes made to Remote Raids will be made. Despite this major controversy, the game is still active, with Pokemon GO receiving new content in May.
Pokemon GO is now available on Android and iOS devices.