A data-mining account has found evidence that a regular battle pass could be headed to Pokémon Go.
As reported by Dexerto, reliable data-mine account PokeMiners revealed in a tweet that they’d found a new item in the game’s files called the Battle Pass Ticket. PokeMiners hasn’t revealed any additional information about the item or what it points to, but fans have already gone wild with theories and speculation. Some believe that a free battle pass could reward loyal players with difficult-to-obtain items, while others are concerned about the ongoing level of monetization in the game, fearing that a battle pass would tip developer Niantic over the edge.
Pokémon Go has had battle passes before, but only for its Go Battle League system. Go Battle League pits players against each other in battles meant to show off their strongest Pokémon. The permanent mode has its own battle pass, which includes a paid Premium Rewards tier that offers better prizes for each battle won. Niantic hasn’t commented on whether battle passes will be coming to the main game, but based on the data-mined item, it seems as though it could be in the future.
Niantic’s monetization structure has been a point of concern for fans, with many becoming increasingly concerned at the amount and cost of available microtransactions. Some fans believe that the addition of a main-game battle pass could increase the amount of real-money purchases in the game to an unviable level. While nothing has been confirmed yet, data-mined items do frequently appear in the game, so it will likely only be a matter of time before we find out more about the Battle Pass Ticket.
