Pokémon GO is currently celebrating the big GO Fest in Chicago, which is supposed to offer us legendary Pokémon worldwide. However, the servers are causing problems for trainers and Niantic. Players are unable to log in in Chicago. The fest is turning into a mess.
Today, on July 22, the GO Fest started in Chicago’s Grant Park. It was supposed to be a huge event where players would unite in Chicago and around the world to unlock legendary Pokémon for Pokémon GO.
Trainers in Chicago, however, are facing a familiar problem: They cannot play.
“We cannot play!” – Cheers resound
Cheers from the trainers resound: “We cannot play!” – The visitors are angry.
During the opening ceremony of the GO Fest, Niantic’s CEO John Hanke did not receive a warm welcome. Instead, players yelled that he should finally fix the game and the servers.
Someone was even so angry that they threw a water bottle at the poor moderator on stage.
Niantic in crisis management
In a statement to the festival attendees, a Niantic official said: There are three technical issues they have been working on for hours. One on the service provider side, two others on Niantic’s side.
This is not the day they envisioned, but they hope for the patience of the players on site. The official also provided some tips and workarounds on how trainers in the park might still get Pokémon GO to work.
As a measure, Niantic has allowed players to leave the fest and return as they wish. Within a “two-mile radius” around the fest, catching Pokémon counts as if they were in the park itself. Therefore, many trainers have left the park and are now outside the designated area.
Festival attendees will get their money back
The GO Fest has not been canceled yet. Still, Niantic has already announced that players on-site will receive a refund for their tickets. Additionally, there are 100 dollars paid out in the form of PokéCoins, Pokémon GO’s premium currency.
Legendary Pokémon will still come – Silver Tier reached
For the players at home, things look good: Two “challenge phases” have now been completed and the “silver tier” has been unlocked. The “gold tier” should also be achieved in the third and final time window. Then the trainers in Chicago must still complete the “mystery challenge” to unlock the legendary Pokémon globally – Niantic will surely allow that, otherwise, they will be in trouble.
It seems certain that Niantic definitely wants to release the legendary Pokémon worldwide.
Gold Tier reached – Lugia is coming, Articuno as well.
Update 23:45: The Gold Tier has been reached. All bonuses that could be unlocked are now activated and will be active for 48 hours. The “mystery challenge,” which unlocks legendary Pokémon, is now active.
The legendary Pokémon Lugia is set to be obtainable through legendary raids and will soon be available as a raid challenge worldwide for 48 hours. All trainers in Chicago will receive Lugia.
As Team Mystic contributed the most to the success of the event, the next legendary Pokémon Articuno will be unlocked – likely a bit later than Lugia.
For interaction with other trainers, we recommend our Pokémon GO Facebook page.
- Here you can find an overview of how the GO event was supposed to work.
- Here is the live stream, which is sometimes on and sometimes off. There you can admire the mess yourself: Pokémon GO: Livestream started – Here you can watch the GO Fest
- Pokémon GO: These 2 legendary Pokémon are coming
