Trainers, Niantic and Pokemon Go are reverting the PokeStop interaction radius back to standard distance.
According to the world’s greatest Pokemon Go dataminers, the PokeStop interaction distance has been updated in some countries and players have to get closer to spin a PokeStop.
The new PokeStops interaction distance is live only in New Zealand and the U.S. for now, but it seems like these changes will be live worldwide at some point.
PokeStop Distance Changes
- Changed from 80 meters to 40 meters.
As per the official Pokemon Go blog:
Over the next few months, we’re planning to remove or change some of the bonuses introduced last year. We will not make these changes until after Pokémon GO Fest in July, and we will remove them first as a test in the U.S. and New Zealand starting at the end of July. We will remove or change them on a rolling basis in other countries and regions over time, and at the same time introduce new exploration bonuses.
Previously, PokéStop and Gym interaction distances were increased, to enable people to engage from further away. After this change the distance will revert back to the standard distance, when it makes sense in different places, though may be increased during future events and as part of certain features.
Please have in mind that these changes and bonuses are live in some parts of the world, so it’s not worldwide yet.
What are your thoughts about these changes? Do you agree or disagree with this decision?
Sucks give something and soany players loved it and now gonna take away why what’s does it hurt we in the United States are gonna shut down again if keeps in this direction its going, what then?
They should leave the increase distance cause some of the poke stops or gyms are hard to get and with the drifting in the game make it even worse. The distance increased helps a lot to not get out of a gym battle and loose the raid pass, and sometimes with the drifting is almost impossible get inside the battle again. The drifting depends on the cellular service no niantic so I’m hoping the whole pokemon world community gets together and fight for that right to keep distance like this of even bit bigger.
110% correct this is not good.
This! So much this!!
This was a really bad move on their part. for once the game was a little more interesting. Not so much now.
Agreed! So mad they reverted this change!
I so agree. Taken all the joy out of it.
I agree. Now I can’t reach a lot of stops and it’s no longer as fun. Half the time I spin a stop and it says “try again later” anyway. I liked pokestops being reachable so I could give gifts.
Get out the house and walk for a change. This update is for people like you that sit on their tails and don’t enjoy playing the game it’s supposed to be played. Try reaching for the door handle and putting one foot in front of the other… ♂️
#1- what happened to you that you feel you need to condescend to someone else over something that is OUTRAGING millions of players?? I’m in a wheelchair. I specifically picked my apt location so I would always have a PokeStop in reach so when I couldn’t get outside or my pain is so bad, I physically can’t, and one of the only things that made me happy has been yanked away. #2- TRY THIS: TAKE ONE FOOT OUT OF YOUR MOUTH, THEN REPEAT. (IF YOU HAVE TWO FEET, UNFORTUNATELY MINE DONT WORK ANYMORE. BUT THANKS FOR BEING A TYPICAL SELFISH AMERICAN POSTURING YOURSELF AS BEING “BETTER THAN”….. AND AS FAR AS NIANTIC, AND THE LITERAL HUNDREDS IVE PAID THEM IN ONLINE SHOPPING THE LAST 2 YEARS, IM DONE. THEY DONT FIX THIS BACK, AND IM DOOOOONE!!! I WAS ALREADY CLOSE TO QUITTING, BECAUSE THE “QUESTS” AND “MISSIONS” ARE FEELING LIKE WORK, NO FUN AT ALL. Catching the same pokemon 300x in 5 days and STILL NO SHINY? (CRANIDOS)…. BOOOOO
Fine then why don’t you use those shitty arms of yours to wheel your b**** a** closer to the Stop. It’s easy for “machine type” people like yourself so take it easy pal
You forget about the many disabled people who were finally able to reach a stop from their homes and play. I can deal with the reversal, but they can’t. It’s like giving a gift and taking it away
Think about the pandemic. The less you are exposed to outside, the better. You could still walk in a small range I mean, but the increased distance really helped me a lot during pandemic. And it is NOT over.
Some of us cannot walk. That’s why the increased distance is so important. Please have a little sensitivity before telling people to put one foot in front of the other.
Some people have a life and work for a living. You make assumptions like a child would. Adolescents are not the only ones that get enjoyment from this game. The added distance could make a lot of difference playing at lunch or breaks. It can also make it safer for kids trying to get closer to a gym or poke stop. Grow up and be a positive role model not an Idiot.
I agree Rod, if they don’t change it back I’m stopping play in protest. I spend a lot of money on that game and they won’t get another dime from me till it’s changed back. What are they thinking. A lot of people stopped playing recently and I’m sure that will continue making the game and raids not fun any more. I’m done with there c***. We pay all kinds of money to have them make the game harder and infect some people as a bonus. That’s just wrong, I’m DONE.
Going to be playing less with the new gym radius.
I will play less and not engage in activities that cost. That will equal no fun. Wonder how long I will continue to play???
Tell me you don’t care about covid or your players without telling me.
Complete c***, I live next to a church poke and can’t interact with it. I did before the pandemic and of course during. But not now
I agree, I used the increase range to get items from a stop by my work as I don’t get to take many walks, with the size back to normal I can only hit it once or twice a day depending on my break.
Our area has mask mandate reinstated. I will not be playing in close proximity to others. I am located in the USA. We are one of the worst countries to make this adjustment. Might cure my Pokémon habit.
I’m going to have to stop playing now. I’m handicapped and they’ve made it too difficult for me. I’ll miss it.
With the new wave of Covid it seems to be a bad time to decrease the distance since many places are once again initiating masks and required distancing. I feel everyone would feel more comfortable playing with the continued distance.
I think that in light of covid19 and the fact that their are still a lot of people who are not vaccinated that the distance should stay the same. I don’t think this is right
Agreed
Who cares about covid ? Go outside fatty slims
It’s gotta be hard to be that mature.
The families of the 600k+ problem care. The people in my husband’s ICU mostly care. I guess this of us that prefer not to spread disease or help an even more deadly variant spawn care. Not really rocket science, though the deniers sure make it seem that way :/.
Is this a serious response? We are outside. Wearing mask, in 6ft bubble. Have you been in a time warp that precludes you from such experience?
Thank you!! The game is meant for traveling. All these comments scream laziness lol
This!!!
Someone should start a petition for Niantic to take into consideration of social distancing rules while we are still not out of the woods of covid pandemic!
Hundreds of thousands signed petitions. Niantic didn’t listen. They’re getting no more money from me.
Me neither!
There has been one on Change.org since they announced it…
https://www.change.org/p/niantic-keep-the-gym-stop-radius-at-it-current-distance-in-pok%C3%A9mon-go?redirect=false
Agree! We are hunkering down at the hospital again, another wave coming through. C’mon Niantic. Let’s think about this.
why
Personally, I think they should leave the settings just the way they are. The Pandemic is still not over, and many people are still keeping their distance from other players. In doing so, they play the game from their vehicles, and the extra distance is needed most the time to reach a lot of these gyms and pokestops.
There are 2 factors I know Niantic are aware of. Another wave of this pandemic which is spreading in a faster rate. How do I know? I’m in the emergency clinic dealing with it on daily basis.
The other is amount of violence/kidnappings that have skyrocketed. Just a couple wks ago a little girl was almost kidnapped at a bus stop & a couple days after a little boy was snatched by a stranger in front of the kid’s mom & siblings. Luckily the mom could reach in the window & get her child out.
The increase in sex trafficking is at a high.
The bigger cities where my friends/family live like Chicago, stay home due to increase in gun violence. Mostly teens out there with nothing to do but randomly shoot people & it’s the innocent babies that are getting killed.
Let’s not talk about road rage now that people are out and about. This world is less safer each day & this company is gambling with people’s lives.
Dear god get off the internet.
So the delta variant among others will shut us down. While Pokemon Go Company is so tone deaf they take away changes made for social distance and quarantine play…
Playing PG has been much better at the 80 meters. I can not believe that anyone complained regarding the distance change for a longer range. I thing the longer range should be permanent. Please change back.
I agree. This game kinda made it more fun when we were locked down. Now I can’t reach stops unless Jm around public areas again. Do they now know what’s going on? I liked interacting with other players and sending gifts. No spins- no gifts.
I will quit permanently if this change is reverted.
ME TOO!!!!!
110% correct this is not good.
Don’t let the door hit you♂️
Idiots.
The gym distance has halved in NZ from today. For me and two other family members who live next to a gym it renders the game unplayable. If Niantic’s goal is to lose players than I guess it’s mission accomplished. We will no longer be playing. What an incredible act of self sabotage!
Same case for me on East Coast USA, Level 45 player quitting for good unless they revert
Good riddance bum
Competely awful decision.. My one question is WHY? Is it because the game has become too accessible for a differently-abled individuals, so Niamtic felt compelled to roll back that which made the game playable?!? The intent of the game is to get people out, and you still do that with and increased spin distance.. This just makes the grinding nature of the game all the more frustrating. As someone who never played before the pandemic, I look forward to not caring about a game that has made billions of dollars in micro-purchases (i.e. nickling and diming customers at every turn). Whoever is making these God awful decisions should spend a day in a wheelchair trying to play the game, and then decide if a shorter distance makes sense. YOU DON’T GET IT, LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS BEFORE YOU LOSE THEM!
In Nz and can confirm it has reverted back. And it sucks! Why, why, why Niantic??? You make great money out of this game, what would make you think making the user experience worse for people is going to make them want to play it? If I thought enough people would do it, a
“pokemon no” protest with a day off playing would be a suggestion.
Suck. I started playing again because I could reach a gym close to my house. Can’t now. Can’t be bothered with this anymore. What benefit is making it harder for players to enjoy? Will stop playing again and uninstall.
I completely disagree why would you take something away that people like especially since it wasn’t much of a boost anyway seems like a waist of why don’t you fix some real problems in the game like the friends list for raid invites is always laggy never puts all my online friends on top or make the tags visible in every menu like when I want to change a tm why cant I look at my tags oh and why do the rocket leaders have such lame catch Pokemon you get better evolution lines from grunts Couldn’t you at least give us evolved forms there are all kinds of actually useful things in the game you can do stop waisting time doin useless and unpopular things
I will be playing a lot less with the distance changes. I work 40+ hours a week and do my stops quickly after work so I can get home to take care of my family. Do you people think no one works or has families to take care of. We don’t spend all our time playing Pokemon, most of us have lives, families and jobs. If it wasn’t for us your game would not have been the success it has been
Just seems like a ash grab. If.you can’t reach the stop in your normal mode of play than you will be forced to drop coin on the store for items you need to play. Pokeballs, revives etc
I think its outrageous. I’m no longer surprised when Niantic does something breathtakingly stupid, but this is a new low. They’re removing something that’s not only wildly popular, but was designed to minimize player danger during a pandemic that’s not remotely over. And for what? What is the justification for this? The negligible increase in radius didn’t change the game in any way whatsoever; it just made it very slightly more accessible. As an immunocompromised player who can barely leave the house, I’m furious
I’m in the same boat as you. I’m also immunocompromised, and I’m seriously thinking of quitting the game entirely over this. Niantic doesn’t deserve my money if they’re going to be this reckless and stupid.
It’s ridiculous. we always wanted this and now they’re taking it away. not a single person who plays wants this
It is safer leaving Pokestops as they are. People will have to cross more roads to reach Pokestops and that can be dangerous. Leave it as it is
If they felt the need to do this (& I believe it was a wise decision to do it) in March 2020 due to Covid restrictions- then they should be keeping it now more than ever. As the situation currently is far worse than it was in March 2020. Really makes no sense to revert it, if safety (social distancing, etc) was the reason it was implemented
Niantic giveth, Niantic taketh away. So, I’m out. Done with PoGo after playing since day two.
Due to social distance they should increase not decrease. I have3 stops and 3 gyms by my house but I can’t get to them without driving or walking. When I do drive I got to places with multiple-choice spots. My grandson likes to spin for me when I drive. I can’t walk far distances either so it will cut my spin and gym time for sure. Bad choice folks
Now that Delta varient is causing hospitals to fill, it’s a great time too encourage groups. NOT. Horrible idea and worse timing.
Niantic wants us players to spend money and we love to spend because it gives us fun. But now, it is making us feel miserable by doing this reversion. Positive changes must not be changed. I m more bothered about 2x distance of pokestops, which is decreased
It’s bad enoughI had to trespass to spin stops already: ones on private property,; in gated communities; in churches or even IN COUNTY PRISON!!!
If I can’t stand on a sidewalk and spin the stop, GET RID OF IT!!!
Hardly anyone plays anymore… There are still COVID issues going around, so make less incentives to play…. The rewards and bonuses for research grinding are a joke to begin with… I think Niantic worries more about cheating and spoofing than they do about player participation and building it’s player base….
If only they had asked the players their views on changing things again. They didn’t say why they were chasing things again, as if it’s going to make people go out more, we have to go out to spin the stops, but it is much easier with the longer distance. I wonder what else they will charge that they added, prob the gifts that our buddies bring and maybe other things our buddies bring. It makes me wonder what their reasoning is behind it. If enough decided not to play on a certain day they may sit up and take notice. You’d think they’d listen to the people that actually pay their wages. If it wasn’t for the game players they wouldn’t have an income or a billion dollar game! Maybe think on that you executers that make all the decisions!
Absolutely crazy!
It’s like a checklist of spread acceleration has been looked at by Niantic.
1. New waves of Covid rolling in. ✔
2. Delta strain more contagious. ✔
3. Not enough people in society vaccinated yet ✔
4. More countries stupidly lifting or easing restrictions ✔
5. Tighten radius of stops so people HAVE to be closer ✔
6. Kill off more players ✔
7. Lose money ✔…….umm
(Niantic..” oh s*^# …”)
(Stockholders..”)
(Players..”☠)
Me…
Thanks a bunch Niantic
I think the distance should be further expanded for a myriad of safety reasons. If the distance gets reverted, I’ll spend my gaming money on a different game.
This is the WORST possible time to do this. Delta covid is causing a new pandemic, because people apparently never learn their lesson. If they do this now, they will be directly responsible for causing more deaths from the disease! What are they thinking?!
The game works better for more people, is safer, and considering what’s going on with the delta variant…so we are going to revert that change?
I can’t find the words for the level of stupidity this decision required.
Pandemic or not, prior to the distance increase replacing items in my bag was a chore. The increase in the poke stop distance made the game much more enjoyable Since I’m the only reason my families accounts are still active Niantic may lose 5 trainers at my house.
I think this just kicked in this morning (August 1). I ran to 7-11 to get milk for breakfast. There’s a pokestop that I used to be able to spin from the parking lot, but now I can’t – I would have to walk over closer to access it. I’m pretty sure I spun that pokestop from that parking lot yesterday.
Terrible idea. Do not remove. This limits accessibility for trainers may be movement impaired
Tons of players love the 80 meters feature… leave it as it is. Niantic should do what benefits the players, I don’t know about everyone who participates in the events however, my family and I enjoy playing that we purchase tickets and sometimes items at the shop. There are thousands of not more that do the exact same. Give the players what they want!!!!! Stop changing what works for us!
They could have at least split the difference to 60. Where I could interact with a gym from my house, now I can’t right in the middle of me putting my Pokémon in the gym.
Why? We have to encourage distancing when we raid together.
Niantic, are you serious. Did you think about the crisis of Covid 19 that we are still going through. I am a 59 yr old woman that enjoy Pokemon Go. I have health issues and can’t get to many pokestops due to not having transportation. So the distance increase allowed me to continue to play. But at this rate I may have to stop playing. You need to take into consideration what is best for the players because without them this game would not exist.
Even if there was no pandemic at all these changes are necessary. This is a terrible idea. Even worse is the loss of incense effectiveness. Basically you can no longer play from home, which I do constantly. So they just lost a lot of money and playing time from me because I can’t go and play outside every waking moment. The only thing they understand is their cash flow and this will hurt them a lot more. Whoever is in charge of this decision needs fired.
Good thing the pandemic is over and it’s safe to be super close again. Not.
They are so stupid. There is a PokeStop right in front of were I live. I use to be able to reach it from my bedroom but since the revert I practically have to be in the building to reach it now. The delta strain will shut down everything again here in the USA but I don’t think nantic even cares. Some of the community days seem like repeats there really isn’t anything new. I’ve also notice a decrease in the water type spawns even on rainy days I hardly see any.
Covid on the rise. Highly contagious variant ramping up for the foreseeable future. Why would you pack people closer to each other?
Haven’t played since mid July. Done now
So in the midst of the increasing cases and already 35 million infected and 600,000 deaths PG thought that the test in the US was a wise idea? Really??
In my town the PokerStars are very dared out. Some now with the longer distance will not be accessible to the disabled.
Obviously no one is happy to see these changes revert backwards. People are being ridiculous though saying well Covid, delta, killing players and such. 40 meters is just as safe as 80 meters people so stop scapegoating the pandemic we were lucky they changed it to begin with because it wouldnt have hurt them to have left it in guessing. I am hopefull that with the relivant sales data they could realize that the increased range helps sales of there larger items and the things like pokeballs sales dont change. Now if the changes were indeed sponsorship driven then i think we have a better method to understand the changes and i think we need to rethink the whole sponsored locations ploy to really make them somewhere a pokemon player would want to go to.
I’m happy about it, means less campers on gyms, people who could take and defend gyms from there couch now halfta put there shoes on and go outside. Awesome.
I absolutely disagree! The pandemic is starting up all over again! Doesn’t Niantic listen to the CDC advisory? In the first place how the h*** does increasing the pokestop hurt Niantic sales? I live in Texas and I can tell you that I go to a parking lot in front of sports fields and I still have to get closer to the 4 pokestops to spin each one!! I’ve never felt like the distance to pokestops here were ever “increased”! Now they want to take this small advantage away from players? I’ve had lots of issues with my app for about 8-10 months now where it freezes up! I’ve lost raid bosses because I couldn’t finish a raid many times and end up losing my raid pass that I had to PAY for each time!! I can’t spin stops or gyms or catch pokes!! All of this happening during an event where time really matters!! Why doesn’t Niantic address their app malfunction and stop trying to make it harder and more EXPENSIVE on players to play their game!!!? I’m so ready to find a new game! This “free” game is way to expensive!
We get maybe an average of only 3 balls per spin now, we are forced to buy raid passes in order to get pokes we want, then we run out of revives and start the cycle all over again; it’s ridiculous that Niantic has gotten so d*** greedy!
I dont find it fun anymore to play this game especially when the pandemic is becoming worse. Folks are risking their life on pokemon go, is it worthwhile since developers are concerned only on making more money.
Spoofing is bad cus niantic says ppl should be out socialising and exercise while playing. Pokestop and Gym Distance to be reduced cus ppl need to gather closing for socialising and exercise. PANDEMIC.. corvid.. that’s not develope by Niantic.. no problem will ban just like spoofing.
i just got back into pokemon go this year and the distance has been awesome but not that its reverted its a pain. i for one also agree its a bad idea due to the covid outbreak. helps with people staying safe. please go back to the 80 meters.
I’m out
The Delta variant is spiking in our area too, I think you should keep the farther distance permanently only because many people still have to keep the social distancing, plus if states and counties start shutting down again, it will be impossible to play!
I dont care about the pandemic. I struggled before living in a small town. The switch to 80 meters was what allowed me to play this game. That switch was a quality of life change and should be permanent. I have no qualms with quitting, again. What a joke.
I hate this. I’m still not ready to go into the dangerous world, especially with everything spiking again. Now I have to go right up to stops to spin them instead of keeping a safe distance. I used to be able to reach one from the front of my apartment, but it’s across the street so now I have to cross the street to reach it.
I hear you, such a brainless decision from Niantic… Why does it matter that you can access it a little closer.
So pedantic
I got back into Pokemon Go during the pandemic. With so many at home due to either COVID restrictions or because we are working from home, the changes made it alot easier. I have a gym near where I live and several PokerStars that I could get to without going outside. Given the current surge of the Delta variant, this could not have come at a worse time.
Delta’s surging do let’s force people to get closer?
They encourage us to make more friends then take the ability to get gifts away. I think it’s a silly idea.
Sucks. Most stops in my area are away from the street and sidewalk, requiring walking thru parking lots, around the back of office buildings, and walking onto the grounds of churches, for example. Can’t reach 2 stops on opposite side of 4 lane street, so I walk across traffic to median to spin. Area where I live, people are (mostly) reasonable social distancing and avoiding each other on the street, while surrounding counties, not so much. Since retirement, PG is my main incentive to keep walking daily.
Niantic: don’t revert to 40 meters, please make 80 permanent!
Not a very inclusive move…Ppl who got the vaccine are still catching Covid…Not to mention ppl who are disabled and can’t go out to stops and gyms who only recently started playing no longer can…like my friend…She’s not going to pay tons of money for pokeballs…We both deleted the app a few hours ago…
Just went for my daily friend gift fill up where I had 5 stops close together I could walk and spin. Now I can’t reach 2 of those stops without leaving the track and climbing over a low fence. For folks who might play from their car they can only reach 2 out of the 5. It’s ridiculous to change this back since it doesn’t give anyone any sort of strategic advantage in the game.
I really hate this! My daughter is recently disabled and uses a wheel chair but was finally able to play again when they increased the poke stops. There’s a poke stop at the store across the street. After work on nice days I can walk her around to get poke balls but when I’m at work, at least she could get them on her own. Now she can’t and is just heart breaking to see her so upset. Thanks for nothing Niantic!
Dumb, mad dumb, I want to play and Niantic limits the playability. Hard enough keeping pokeballs in my inventory. How am I suppose to catch em all. Niantic, eat a bag a D.
The virus is not gone and spreading rapidly so this is only going to cause problems. I have made many friends, even with the increased distance, so why push us together? We know many older players who cannot walk long distance especially in Texas heat. Please reconsider the distance because it will hurt the game because many cannot play if you cut it down.
I came back at the beginning of the pandemic to find that the game worked the way it should have always worked! I was excited! Very strange how they can update the game to be how it always should have been regarding interaction distance, and then take it away. It is very dumb that I have several gyms and a poke stop that I cannot interact with now unless I walk outside of my house looking like an idiot to interact with something 10-15ft away. If I want to grind those stops, I now have to do that every 5 minutes? Wonder around like an idiot? This is seriously one of the reasons I quit the game in the first place. Making your player base look like morons to play your game is a bad move.
Just give us the interaction distance we deserve to not look like morons when trying to play your game. If it doesn’t change back soon I will be quitting this game for the 2nd time.
I think it’s a really silly idea to reduce the distance to spin poke stops. Won’t play again.
They need to leave the distances at 80m. I have only a few stops in my town and one gym is inaccessible without trespassing. The increase made it possible to legally get to
With the new delta variant becoming more and more widespread, and hospitals quickly filling up with Covid-19 patients once again……I really think Niantic choosing to return Pokémon GO to its original gameplay is a bad idea. I think they should have waited until at least next year to start bringing things back to normal. Niantic should be continuing (and possibly adding on more) it’s Covid-19 precautions in order to continue keeping players safe. Instead, players like me who can no longer be out in public will once again have limitations on how we’re able to play.
You can’t even get the stops from across the street now. And due to handicap I can’t even walk that much, so it’s time to leave the game after 5 years of devoted playing and spending money on the game. Wish I haven’t bought more coins this weekend. You encouraged us to make more friends and now we can’t even exchange gifts. Game sucks now.
I hate the change. I loved the increased distances. It made the game more fun!
This is the worst decision the game could make. Before this update happened, my husband who is physically disabled, was able to play this while being home. Now he has to walk right up to the stop? Not a great idea what so ever to even do this at all. Just leave it the way it was and work on the research story lines.
This is ABSOLUTELY INFURIATING for those of us who are handicapped and cannot walk.
There is No Reason to reduce PokeStop distance at this point, and don’t blame COVID changes. This company is going to lose players And Cash. Leave the status well enough alone. Otherwise, this game is going to be left well enough alone, and suffer a sweet decrease of gameplay cash.
This is absurd, not everyone is able to get around to stops as easily as others. The increase was so helpful and now it’s gone… its like removing ALL handicapped parking spaces… Smdh Sad
I just started playing with my husband again two days ago and now we do not have a single stop that we can reach from our house so I’m out again, f*** this garbage I’m not paying for all of my balls from now on and I had already dropped 20 bucks on lures so I could have fun with my husband because he was so excited and had never played before, now we are both just bummed out.
Trash update. We pay pay pay for events and items and this is how we’re rewarded. Definitely is going to decrease people playing with all these terrified sheep.
I was actually about to quit playing pokemon go because it needed fixes like this. Revenue went up for the game over the last year because they made it more fun. Honestly they should just leave the updates. Maybe take back daily gifts or something, but leave the increased distance.
With COVID restrictions being reimposed this is kinda stupid not to mention it was nice to be able to hit the poke stop as you walk by across the street and not have to cross just to spin but it’s not like my opinion will matter
Quite possibly the worst time they could’ve done this. Just do what you did to the gift holding and increase it. You’ll wring plenty out of us for remote raids and s***, on top of being shitty timing it’s just bad business.
I was considering giving up on PokemonGo before the distance increase due to so many gyms being out of reach. Then the increase made the game more enjoyable so I instead ended up playing more. I even spent money on go fest which I never thought I’d do. Now the game is near useless again I feel ripped off and disappointed. #RAGEQUIT
The new lower distance has made the game essentially unplayable. Pokestops often give 0-1 pokeballs anymore and the timing between the pokestop being able to spin has lengthened. It has left the only way to catch Pokémon and play the game be through buying pokeballs, because even gifts rarely have pokeballs.
I’ve played the game since it’s inception day. I’m done. I quit. I no longer want to play it because they have made it no longer playable.
Some of us live in areas with high violent crime, where simply checking out the pokestop nearby could get you robbed at gunpoint for your phone. Guess I am done playing.
Good as I’m not playing any more after the change. Bye Pokémon.
I don’t understand why they reduced the distance while COVID Delta is increasing.
I think the distance should stay as it is so I can cover more gyms and pokestops.
Give players something to celebrate by increasing interaction distance—check. Take it away—add frustration to a game that people pay to play.. lose players, frustrate clients, tone deaf with real world social distancing issues. Why???!?
Seriously Niantic just leave the game alone what makes you think this won’t Outrage an Entire Gaming Community everyone will agree the range should either be increased to 100M or leave it at 80M distance needed
Dumb. I was spending some money for remote raid passes. I’ve been playing since the first week. I’m not willing to burn gasoline just to get to a stop.
Bad move, Niantic, bad move.
I’ll play again if you bring back the increased distance. Otherwise, meh. I guess this gives me more time for other things.
UNNACEPTABLE.
I quit playing a couple years ago because of this. Then decide to try again this summer and was happy to see they switched it back to this. My oldest (5y/o)even started to get interested in playing it and was loving it. Especially when his little sister would take naps. This was what him and I would play this together when she was napping. We have one poke stop close to our house and he always enjoyed spinning it from in the house. Even my youngest (2y/o) really enjoyed spinning the poke stop because she really doesn’t understand or have the hand/eye coordinates to catch Pokémon. So to make her feel like she was helping or playing the game we’d allow her to spin the stop by our house. I noticed yesterday that we literally have to be right on top of the poke stop. It’s really frustrating especially with two screaming kids who are crying because they do not understand we can no longer play the game from the house no matter how I try to explain it. We go for walks every day when the weather is warm but in the next couple weeks it’s going to start cooling down and we won’t be able to do our evening walks with every night and with this DELTA virus. You know they’re going to try to put us back on lock down and mask us back up here this autumn especially since number are rising. So why not just keep it back on increased radius to help parents or individuals who really rely on games or things like this to escape reality. Because life sucks balls right now.. Atleast give us options if we want it very hard then give small radius or if we want it easy give a larger radius. Not to mention the amount of money I blow on this game weekly!!! It’s just really frustrating. I will more then likely not be playing again unless they change the feature back.
This an awful idea! I will not be playing anymore. This makes things so difficult for people that already had disadvantages to get to pokestops. Not to mention in several countries cities and towns covid is a very real threat still and we are not supposed to be out in public and around other people so if we are social distancing how are we going to be able to get to these pokey stops and avoid other people? This is not only a terrible idea it’s the worst possible. During a time where things are hard and people look to things like this to keep them busy and their minds off of all the stress and a hard times they’re going through. I highly implore you to reconsider the selfish decision. Pulled up on a stop where I used to get four pokestops at once and from the road I can’t reach even one and the place is closed at dusk when I get off work. I might sound like a spoiled child but sometimes the smallest the delights help us get through the hardest times.
I hate it. Can’t easily get to some of the gyms and poke stops because of the traffic and no sidewalks, just busy street with ditches on either side. Some are surrounded by fences which have locked gates making them totally unreachable. I went to a new one today, I was standing ten feet away from it, and it said to move closer. It was “The Jesus Statue” at a local church and if I moved any closer, I would have been peeping into the priest’s window. Another one, which is a local restaurant, is their roadside sign which is right next to the busy street, again no sidewalk. The only way to reach that one is to stand in the middle of the parking lot, best if standing where cars turn into the lot. Some are on private property, can’t get close enough without trespassing. Please revert back, this is not a good change. As much as I love this game, it has taken a huge step towards unenjoyable.
There is a poke stop at my church and my work. However, most of the time I can’t spin the poke stop now because I’m too far away from it…while I’m there. That makes no sense to me.
I love to go walking and spin…but I don’t like to trespass onto the property where most of them are. There already were too few poke stops fire me to use on my way home from work…but this is impossible. I’m gonna take a break in the hopes this isn’t permanent. If it is..I’ve got other things to spend my time on
i hate it why they changing it it should stay the way it was.
Rather sucks honestly. I have a poke stop and hun by work but now I can no longer access them without leaving work and walking across the street. It was the only way I was able to keep poke balls to continue playing throughout the day.
I live in the city and used to play for what I honestly feel like was 2 hours a day. With the smaller radius I struggle to get poke balls, which in turns means I am more conservative with what I do have. It is only the first day since the change and I think I opened the app 3 times just to see if anything good was around and that was it. I fee like I will likely play less and less since I do not have the resources readily available or anymore. I highly recommend changing it back.
Change it back this is not ok
Change it back to 80 meters. It doesn’t change how far I walk each day. It just means I won’t play as much. I have younger kids who I don’t want them to talk to strangers
What a load of disappointing c***… Someone up in Niantic needs and deserves a massive slap to the back of the head.
This change in the game is completely tone-deaf to the ongoing pandemic. I want it to be over as much as anyone but wishing won’t make it so.
There are also innumerable people who have limited mobility who will now feel excluded. I have no idea what prompted this terrible idea but it should be reconsidered immediately!
Garbage
No a fan of the change. Though it may not be a big deal in downtown areas. As I get farther out and closer to my home, it’s more invasive on some businesses and churches. Instead of walking by, I’d have to get on their lawns. Not cool, I won’t be able to participate as much.
The dumbest thing Pokémon go could possibly do. It makes me not even want to play anymore. Change it back, or you’ve lost my business.
This is lame AF!!!!
I am a grandma that plays with her grandchildren. I am 70 and enjoyed playing with them. I could afford to buy raid passes and drove my gkids around to stops and gyms. I will not let my gkids out the car to play as there are so many homeless wandering around and here they are sometimes dangerous. I will quit the game if this happens for good! I am in the test market and it is near impossible to access many stops and gyms now that the distance is reduced to 40. I have a stop inside a post office 2 doors down that I cannot reach now. This SUCKS!!!
This is the most ridiculous idea to make this change. Personally I play this along with the entire family, we travel a good bit around the area through parks and stores. We see that there are a lot of unsafe locations due to roads and highways, locations that are posted in stores, where they frown upon loitering inside for Pokémon events. As well as private communities and business developments where you can not just walk to these sites and get closer due to privacy or trespassing on property. These were all areas you could safely reach across the streets, outside of businesses or safely period. Now your asking people to trespass, endanger themselves to get closer to these stops that were once safely engaged. I know of one in particular that is a gym posted in a 4 way intersection, let’s ask kids to walk into the middle of the street to fight a gym, or a raid at that point. One thing to spin and walk away, but for lores on stops there’s added time to sit and catch what you intended to sit through your lore time to get. An raids that means you sitting there focused on battles for a given time as well. Even the danger of traffic, let alone the time spent on private property. You’ve made it to hard for players to engage and still make this game reasonably enjoyable. Most are going to end up frustrated, quit, or worse. Need to rethink this or allow for gums and stops to be put up almost anywhere by trainers, to help the younger or newer players find locations that are safe and fun.
I’m really frustrated about this, too. 🙁 Especially for how it reduced accessibility for friends with limited mobility. I agree with so many others who are advocating for the extended distance to be a permanent change.
Uuuuuggg… I live in a small town and the 80m made it playable because we could finally get enough items in a shorter amount of time to just play for a while away from stops…. Now, I may stop playing because I simply can’t get enough items. Bad play, Niantic.
Frustrating. Where I am (IL) many people get suspicious or aggressive if your are on their property, even businesses. It was nice to be able to grab a stop from the sidewalk, or without going to the entrance or inside, it reduced the risk of angry people or suspicious people posting on next-door, confronting me, etc.
I am 76 years old and physically handicapped and this change makes the game pretty much unplayable for me now. I can no longer reach a poke stop from my chair, much less a gym. I really hope Niantic gets the message and changes distances back to 80 meters (or more!).
Since the distance change between stops I can no longer hit the gym next to my house or either one of the pokestops I’m a stay at home mom I never get to leave like that. I guess I won’t be playing nearly as often as I do.
Go Fest was to encourage gym battle with friends, which we did. Now I can see physically see the gym but my can’t reach it so I can’t invite friends to battle. Highly disappointed and not too interested in spending more money on remote raid passes
this changes sucks…hoping it will gonna revert back pretty soon.
The decreased interactions done only in the US and New Zealand seems to be somewhat unfair. The changes should have been done worldwide, it’s bad enough that it’s still costing a lot of us to do raids randomly, etc…
I think it’s just dumb to make something easier (or what will be deemed “better” by your fan-base), let us train ourselves on it for a year, and then change it such that every seasoned player will then need to retrain their brains. It’s frustrating, and I can honestly see why people are upset over it. I get that they are changing in countries where Covid conditions have started to get better… but that’s just it… STARTED. And it is honestly too early to discern how it will all turn out. Bonehead move regardless.
Now my kids and I have to cross 6 lanes of traffic to visit gyms, one of which is actually on private property with a manger who kicks us out, gyms we visited on country day are in the middle of a homeless camp, the game is now less playable, less safe, and certainly less fun. And the get support button is removed from the app so I cannot tell Niantic. Why rollback an actual improvement to the game? Do they care more about a design concept or players? I get tired of being threatened by homeless people and dodging cars just to catch a pokemon,y participation will drop until the distance is increased again. And one ofy son’s favorite things is the team rocket balloons, if those are gone too that will certainly decrease the fun level.
BOO! Im gonna be playing a lot less now.
Love how the COVID cases are rising so let’s make people get closer to spin stops. What a phenomenal gaming experience.
No choice but to play less. More than half of our stops in Sault Ste. Marie Canada are on private property…they allowed game play from a distance and we were not trespassing….now it is either trespass to play the game or just stop playing.
Really too bad they changed the distance.
As it was we have gyms and spinners inside of building that never get fixed.
I think it’s completely c*** to be honest ! Not fair to push the pokestops back ! The pandemic is not over people still can’t get out as much as before and are still social distancing . It helped tremendously the new changes that with the raids from home the closer pokestop radius . My family and I have been enjoying the game in recent months more because we could access more stops . In my opinion the game would be so much better to put pokestops closer and be able to access gyms from your home and be able to continue raids from home . Also give more frequent rare Pokémon !
So many gyms are nearly imposable to get to. With the increased proximity I could stay safely in me vehicle and not have to walk 20 meters in the grass, church yard, to get to the gym. I quit playing due to the difficulty of accessing gyms near my home. I may quit again.
They stink. I now have to cross streets I didn’t before and some places where they are located do not make property owners of the property happy. No good purpose to change.
There will be a lot less playing for us now that we have to cross busy streets. We can’t even stand on the sidewalk. I’ve invested a lot of time and I’ve had a lot of fun but now it’s become dangerous. I’m sure they’re not all this way but the ones near roads and streets need to be reconsidered. Thank you for asking what we think
It will decrease the amount ppl playing this games. Should increase not decrease. I definitely feel no more fun to play this game anymore
I think it sucks. This is crazy with the increase of COVID -19 & Delta Variant not to mention the fact that they give us 80 meters and then take it from us. They are going to get more of my money and I will not be playing like I use too unless they change it back. I don’t get to walk outside a lot due to my job.
I don’t like the change makes it to hard some places you can’t even get to my mom plays and don’t get around good had a spin she could get and made it good for her so please put it back or most people don’t be playing as much
Why take more of the fun away? This is a game. May delete the app now.
This is horrible… who can we contact to make a complaint???
Covid or not.. they shouldn’t do this, it was fine the way it was!
I spend all this money.. no more!!
Extremely disappointed with these changes. Many are still WFH, kids staying home, homeschooling, and distancing. What’s the harm in leaving the increased distance to spin poke stops etc
This stinks…go back to the way it was please.
I do not like these changes. They need to be reverted back.
We quit playing as of Sunday,as did many of the people we know in our area. First off co
Vid is spreading and no one wants to be on top of people just to play a game, which is the only way you can get to the gyms and stops now. Secondly I am handicapped, I wasn’t 5 years ago when I started, but now I can’t get out and Walk to all the stops. Being able to pull my car up and spin from across the street if I needed to enabled me to continue to play. I quit Sunday because of the changes in the game distance. Wish I hadn’t spent money on more coins this past weekend. But it is what it is. Maybe their intent was to weed out some of the players to stop some of the lags, who knows but it is no longer fun when you have to use remote raid passes to raid a gym directly across from where you are parked cause u can’t get closer. Good run Nitanic, time to go.
Not good. They say they doubled it for pandemic and now reducing it back to how it was which is not true. I used to be able to reach the gym from my house since I started playing in 2016 and now that they have reverted it I can’t. So they reduced it more than what it was initially. This will now make us play less….
Eric I used to be able to park in parking areas close to gyms, now have to park on side of street next to gym to interact with same. Not helping to keep game safe in some locations by lowering the distance for interaction. Will have to determine if it’s worth continuing the game.
No, this is terrible! If the reason for increasing the distance was to promote social distancing during the pandemic, well guess what! We’re still in a pandemic! The world has experienced a terrible time – don’t take away this too!
This sucks. And to the people saying “get out of the house and move around” this discourages that for me – not everyone has gyms in walking distance.
I looked this up -because I thought it was just me- after going on a 45 minute walk. To enjoy the fresh air, sure, but also going to the two closest gyms near me (and only Pokestop in walking distance).
Since finding out these gyms were accessible I’ve been taking this walk once or twice a week, depending on weather. But when I got out today, I couldn’t reach them. Instead of being accessible from an open parking lot, both were unreachable unless I scaled a fence to get into private property.
That’s not happening, so I’m not going to be walking to get gyms anymore.
And even the car is now more dangerous. There were a few stops where I could pull into a parking space and use them, but now they’re not accessible unless I’m in a “no parking” zone or at the entrance to the parking lot.
I can’t always get out to walk for personal reasons, but even if I could just jump out of the car, what about when it’s raining or something ? They put in weather boosts and now im supposed to walk and stand in the rain for 15 minutes to take down a gym?
I think it would be fine if there were more gyms and Pokestops but for some of us we don’t have a lot to begin with so this sucks and discourages play.
Please put it back to 80 meters. For those of us who are disabled the 80 is so much more helpful!!! Pokémon go is really set up for able-bodied people, but there
Are a lot of us who have physical challenges and it seems like Niantic just doesn’t care.
The only pokestop I could reach from my apartment now requires me to go across the street and physically stand against the building… why?
This “test” is the dumbest thing.
Where I live they’re getting more and more covid cases every day… why would you force people to have to gather closer together during this?
smh
No more money for you, Niantic.
Makes me regret the 40$ in pokecoins I bought on the 30th
Pokemon Go is THE ONLY Niantic game that has/had extended range. And it was originally meant to be temporarily.
Giving an edge in one game was poor decision even in the beginning. There are Pikmin, Catan and Transformers in beta, global release is TBA.
Reverting it back is not big deal. It only matters a lot if you are only playing Pokemon Go. And to be honest, Pokemon Go is for making money, Niantics best decision ever was deploy microtransactions at the beginning.
And basically, vaccine for covid-19 is already deployed globally with decent rate, so world can be opened again. And to be precise, how many cities/countries has full 100% lockdown currently? (Full 100% lockdown = You cannot go out, if you go, it would be big fine or jail)
I could reach the stop before they even increase the distance,
now I can’t and I am closer then 40m
My apartment complex has two Pokestops that used to be in range from my apartment, but now I can’t reach either of them without stepping outside a bit. They’re just barely out of reach.
Sign the petition!
Sign the petition!
https://www.change.org/p/niantic-keep-the-gym-stop-radius-at-it-current-distance-in-pok%C3%A9mon-go?redirect=false
Walking over Graves. I could do a quick drive by on my way home from work. Actually a short cut to apartment.
Thanks devs now I can get haunted by a Haunter. Quite possibly going to h*** for disturbing the dead.
I did not know that pokestop decrease distance only applied to USA and New Zealand. I think this is unfair and I think the pokestop distance should increase back to eighty feet (80 ft) like before.
I am homebound due to health issues and started actively playing again a few months ago because I discovered there was a pokestop in range of my home.
This change means I can no longer take part in major partsof gameplay, and if they don’t reverse this, I may have to seek refunds for item purchases I made anticipating being able to continue to play.
Huge pain. Used to have 3-5 in range at work at my bar, so it was awesome for when we’re dead or when I DJ (play Spotify). Now I have none. Guess I quit again
This sucks and if it stays I’m out. You can’t walk down Main Street and get stops now without crossing in traffic to get the ones on the other side. The stops like Starbucks located in stores like Kroger’s could be gotten from the sidewalk, you now have to go in the store just to get a stop. This has ruined the game. Maybe if enough people stop playing they will change it back.
I will no longer be playing Pokémon Go because of this change
Don’t like it. Preferred the larger radius.
Pokémon sucks! Bad move！
This totally blows i can reach a stop from my house and it makes it enjoyable to play i will probably only touch this game once every couple months now and I actually spent alot of money on this game im sure they are going to lose alot of cash by doing this i always felt like the distance should even be further then it was. This sucks.
I strongly disagree with this. It’s not like the distance increase actually affected (in a positive way) very many people in the first place.
I wish they would change it back so I can start playing again. I’m home bound most of the time due to medical problems and was able to to spin a pokestop and do raids from half a block away. Now I can’t anymore. I really enjoy the game and would like to continue playing.
I hope they change it back. I’m going to run out of pokeballs and that’ll be the end.
I just started getting really into this game again during covid, and now I can’t even reach the spots I specifically drive past to get on the way to and from work. Back to being a boring game unless you have hours to walk around. Not everyone has time to be a hardcore player…. Some of us work and have infants and play more casually. Now I can’t even get my usual stops. Guess I’ll be losing interest again.
I don’t like that the decrease has been done. I like it before when you could spin the stops at a greater distance, I like many other may not play as often.
I stopped playing the game due to the decrease. Bummer I was having fun but it’s not convenient to get up that close to it now if it ever goes back the way it was I will play again I just do not enjoy it anymore Seems like kind of a dumb move on their part
I stopped playing the game due to the decrease. Bummer I was having fun but it’s not convenient to get up that close to it now if it ever goes back the way it was I will play again I just do not enjoy it anymore Seems like kind of a dumb move on their part. I wonder how many other players were lost.
Not sure why someone thought this would be a good idea??? Unfortunately, this change has decreased the amount of time I play. I live out in the country where there are NO pokestops so the only time I have access to them is at work. I don’t think my boss will appreciate me getting up from desk and walking around the block just to hit a poke stop throughout the day. I don’t enjoy the game as much and will likely quit playing altogether in the near future.
Very, VERY upset about this change. I USED to be able to play happily in my home, with my housemates, when we can’t go outside (breathing issues) And I liked being able to play from the store I work at, being able to help in raids while staying in the store. This update is honestly garbage. I’m likely going to stop playing again. It’s become nigh-impossible and next to no fun.