In Pokémon GO, numerous gyms and PokéStops have appeared in recent weeks. Now, however, some of them are to be removed again. We have looked into what has happened and explain to you why the trainers are so upset.
What is it about? About two weeks ago, reports increased on social media that more and more gyms are appearing in Pokémon GO. However, these did not follow the usual patterns. Now Niantic has also commented on this situation.
They announced on the evening of November 10, 2021, via their Twitter account, that there was a bug in the game, causing gyms and PokéStops to be placed in the game that do not comply with their rules.
For this reason, they want to fix the issue in Pokémon GO, which is why some of these gyms and PokéStops will be deleted or changed. In another tweet, they address the trainers who have been pleased with the new locations and promise to keep as many of them as possible.
According to their blog post, they began these changes last night in a small area and it is now to be implemented in all other parts of the world (via nianticlabs.com).
These are the first reactions from the community
The trainers of Pokémon GO are upset and express sharp criticism mainly on Twitter. For example, animefanatic781 writes: “Instead of focusing on such things, you should rather concentrate on the number of bugs in the game” (via twitter.com).
Other players also harshly criticize this decision:
- David Gil: “This will be your downfall. If these changes are reversed, you will lose a lot of players. It’s better to touch nothing and leave this bug, which helps many trainers who don’t even have a PokéStop or a gym near them.”
- depessedlapras: “I appreciate the transparency here, but what I don’t understand is why you are ‘fixing’ this? Something that benefits everyone, while the GO battle league is basically unplayable”
- vieiraj(oão): “I can’t understand why you keep upsetting your players”
- Jason: “The players are irrelevant to them. The games are just a side income for the AR world map they are creating.”
- Isio Vielen: “As always, they react quickly in the way that annoys the players the most.”
Some trainers, on the other hand, primarily express concerns about their monsters still sitting in the respective gyms with this news.
Susie Bush writes: “I hope you find a way to get the Pokémon out of a gym before you remove it, because that is an discouraging loss for the people in gyms when you remove it and their Pokémon don’t come back” (via twitter.com).
Old gyms and PokéStops changed
Meanwhile, in the first regions, a change or even deletion of the faulty gyms and PokéStops has occurred. This has now caused renewed frustration among some trainers. Not only have the new gyms been changed or deleted into PokéStops, but also ones that have existed for a long time.
Joao Sequeira angrily writes: “Thanks to your fantastic update, one of my oldest gyms is now a PokéStop…. Thanks for nothing! We are working hard to improve our area and you are ruining it!” (via twitter.com).
And this phenomenon is also reported on reddit. There, ottoguy82 writes: “A gym that has been a gym for months was just turned back into a PokéStop. I wonder if they have removed more than the bug caused?” (via reddit.com).
repo_sado agrees and writes: “I see that new gyms that violate the rules were created today, none of the new bug gyms have been removed, but an older gym has been removed” (via reddit.com).
So far, Niantic has not commented on the problem itself. Whether these places will again become gyms in the future remains open. Wayfarer, the site through which trainers can submit their suggestions for new PokéStops, has only announced maintenance for tonight from 00:30 to 05:00 local time (via nianticlabs.com).
What do you think of Niantic’s approach? Do you wish that the new PokéStops and gyms would just remain? Or are you also affected by erroneous changes, which is why old gyms are now PokéStops? Please share your opinion and experiences here on MeinMMO in the comments and exchange ideas with other trainers about it.
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