In Pokémon GO, new features are coming. Niantic has now given a small insight into two of them: Routes and Showcases.
What is happening in Pokémon GO? Pokémon GO has an important year ahead, as it seems to be undergoing a transformation.
Earlier this year, changes to remote raids caused frustration in the community. In an interview, Niantic addressed this further, showing understanding for the frustration but also emphasizing that they pursue a vision with Pokémon GO, sending players outdoors to explore.
Additionally, Game Director Michael Steranka mentioned that they have exciting things planned, and in terms of feature development, this is one of the most exciting years ever. They want to regain the trust and love of the community.
Now it seems to be gaining momentum, as Pokémon GO presented two new features at the Summer Game Fest.
Update from June 17, 2023: The new feature has now entered the testing phase, and first players can try it out. Here we show you their impressions of the competition feature.
What are these features for Pokémon GO?
At the Summer Game Fest, Niantic was present and gave several media outlets insight into the new features. As a result, new information about the features “Routes” and “Showcases” is now available, which we will summarize briefly for you. There were also some datamines about both before.
What are Routes? As Pokémon GO Hub reports, trainers can accurately trace their running paths with the routes feature. You start a route at a PokéStop or a gym, run a loop, and end up at another or the same PokéStop. So round trips are also possible, and only one PokéStop is needed to create a route.
This running path is saved and can be sent to Niantic. Once the route is released by the developer, other players can see and follow it in their game.
This is intended to give each other the opportunity to discover particularly cool places, hidden gems in an area, or simply good walking paths. Routes can be pretty much anything.
There should also be bonuses for following routes, although it is not yet clear what these will look like. The language mentions increased Pokémon spawns and XP rewards, as well as passive bonuses. Here, we must wait to see how the feature will ultimately be designed.
However, there is still no release date for the feature.
What are Showcases? The portal Dot Esports reports on a second feature, the “Showcases.” Niantic explained to the portal in an interview that “Showcases” are meant to function as a kind of “light leaderboard” for communities.
According to Niantic’s Senior Product Manager Alex Moffit, comparing Pokémon is something that the community already enjoys doing, but it has only happened outside of the game until now. Now you will somewhat be able to show off your coolest Pokémon: “We are quite sparse with leaderboarding and explicit competitions in the game, and that is intentional,” Moffit told the portal: “We know that this happens outside the game in friend groups and everyone finds creative ways to measure up. So we thought, what if we brought a little of that spirit into the game itself?”
At certain PokéStops, “Showcases” are intended to take place, where you can compare Pokémon of specific species with each other. For example, size could be a factor: “Who has the largest Pikachu?” and similar questions.
These Showcases are also supposed to bring rewards such as stardust and XP depending on completion. There should also be medals for the new feature. However, a release date is still not known here either.
However, it is already known how the current month will continue in Pokémon GO. Here we show you all events in June 2023 in Pokémon GO.
