Niantic must be working on something right now, right? Strange things are happening in Pokémon GO. PokéStops are only giving out two items or even disappearing completely. Then a forced update happens, and suddenly everything works again. Is there something bigger behind this?
Players of Pokémon GO have been experiencing strange occurrences in the game for the past few days. It started with a new update that was supposed to fix many bugs, but couldn’t keep that promise. Then another update came, this time fixing more bugs. Shortly afterward, Pokémon trainers were only receiving two items from PokéStops.
A cluster of bizarre events that has never occurred in Pokémon GO before. Players suspect: There is more to it.
Speculations about Niantic’s behavior – What is going on?
Trainers of the popular mobile game “Pokémon GO” have noticed unusual changes in the game over the past few days. On social media, questions have piled up such as “Have you noticed? PokéStops are only giving out two items” or “Have new PokéStops suddenly disappeared for you too?”
Changes have also occurred outside the game. The new update 0.77.1 was surprisingly forced.
What is a forced update? Players with an older version of Pokémon GO are required to update their game before they can play. This usually means that a forced update contains significant changes that should be active for every trainer. Players with older versions might not be able to notice the new changes and would thus have advantages or disadvantages.
On Reddit , Trainer Waldo56 summarizes the events of the past week:
- A new update was released. Supposed to fix bugs but does nothing at first glance.
- iOS users are receiving the update unusually quickly. (Normally, iOS users wait longer for a new update)
- The update was forced earlier than other updates.
- Only one EX-Raid is taking place in the world. Invitations for this are sent out only minutes before the raid starts.
- About a day later, the next update is released. This one truly fixes some bugs. However, no major changes are apparent during data mining.
- iOS users receive the update.
- The update is quickly forced again. This time, however, it is too fast, as not all iOS users had access to the update yet and therefore could not play. Forcing is lifted again.
- PokéStops are only giving out 2 items.
- Shortly after, the item problem at PokéStops was resolved. But new stops and gyms that were recently added to the game have disappeared again.
- The update is forced again, and shortly after, the forcing is lifted again.
Players suspect that Niantic is working on a change and testing it secretly. Also interesting is that the 2-item problem at PokéStops still occurs for some players, even though it has been resolved for others. Players’ speculations cover many areas.
- At the top is the hope for the rollout of Generation 3.
- Reddit user Waldo56 has his own theory. He believes that we will soon get raid scanners. Since the changes are mostly happening server-side, data miners haven’t noticed anything yet. Without a forced update, this wouldn’t work, he says. This would also explain the missing EX-Raids. To ensure these do not occur during the update period, there are no new invitations.
The fact is, that there have been unusual events in Pokémon GO and with the new updates lately. It is unclear, whether this is simply a series of bugs, or the developers are currently planning something bigger.
There has been no official message from Niantic regarding the PokéStop issues so far. What do you think is going on?
John Hanke is now hopeful for the 3rd generation – “Coming soon” to Pokémon GO
