Pokémon Go will no longer restore the game's pre-pandemic radius for interacting with PokéStops and Gyms, developer Niantic has said – marking a significant U-turn on its previous plans.
The game's pandemic era 80m interaction range will now become the game's "base" interaction level globally, the developer said. (Pre-pandemic, it was 40m.)
Niantic announced the news last night to jubilation among fans and numerous high-profile figures in the game's community who had united in an unprecedented call for Niantic to rethink its plans to ditch the doubled distance in certain countries, after changes went live in the US and New Zealand. (The changes were then repealed in New Zealand after a new government-enforced lockdown.)
