Niantic reverses, permanently increases PokéStop interaction distance in Pokémon Go

Additional details from the developer's internal task force will be shared next week.

Image via Niantic

Niantic has officially rolled back the changes made to PokéStop and Gym interaction distances, reverting them to 80 meters after acknowledging the concerns of the Pokémon Go community

Recommended Videos

With this change, the developers have confirmed that no future reductions will be made to the interaction distance and the 80m radius will remain as the default moving forward. 

Additionally, Niantic confirmed the internal cross-functional task force that was created earlier this month will have more information to share on Sept. 1. This response team was formed in response to the initial outcry for the developers to listen to community feedback surrounding continued COVID-19 concerns and accessibility issues.

“Thank you to everyone who made your voices heard,” Niantic said. “We’ve heard you and understand that this has been a welcome benefit to many players. We’ll share more next week.”

These plans should clarify any additional changes to the developer’s initial plans to remove or limit many features implemented to Pokémon Go last year that helped players continue playing the game safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. And, hopefully for players, Niantic will continue taking feedback from or communicating more closely with fans when it comes to quality-of-life changes like this in the future.

Author
Image of Cale Michael
Cale Michael
Lead Staff Writer for Dota 2, the FGC, Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, and more who has been writing for Dot Esports since 2018. Graduated with a degree in Journalism from Oklahoma Christian University and also previously covered the NBA. You can usually find him writing, reading, or watching an FGC tournament.