When it comes to Pokemon Go, it always feels like there’s a major disconnect between the people who make the game, and those who actually play it. While developer Niantic has managed to create a mobile game that’s still thriving after eight years (which is no easy task), the company continues to make choices that don’t make sense to the player community. Gigantamax battles are the latest example of this phenomenon; the feature will be added to the game on October 26th, when six-star Max Raids begin to appear. However, the challenge will apparently be so high that “groups of 10 to 40 Trainers” are recommended.
As a Pokemon Go player since 2016, let me tell you that this sounds completely absurd. Max Battles in Pokemon Go cannot be accessed remotely, which means that people need to find local groups of at least 10 other people if they want a chance of catching a Gigantamax Charizard, Venusaur, or Blastoise (Gengar is coming on October 31st). As a player with more than 100 in-game friends, I find that it’s a challenge getting just four to six people to challenge a Mega Pokemon Raid remotely, let alone in person. I understand Gigantamax Pokemon are meant to be rare (they were in Pokemon Sword and Shield, after all), but this feature will result in only a small percentage of Pokemon Go players having them.
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I wish I could say that this is surprising, but it’s very much in keeping with how Niantic has handled most things related to Pokemon Go lately. This is the same thought process that has led to controversial decisions like the Remote Raid changes in 2023. The company is desperate to recapture the magic of 2016, when Pokemon Go got people to leave the house and explore the outside world. There was something unquestionably magical about those first few months; I have fond memories of playing at the Buffalo Canalside that summer, where hundreds of people were outdoors enjoying Pokemon Go together. It’s one of my fondest memories of the game, but Pokemon has always been about evolution, and Niantic continues to cling to a model that just isn’t realistic all the time. For one thing, the winter months are nearly here, when daylight is at a premium. Second, the task of getting the recommended number of players for a six-star Max Raid in person would be difficult even in perfect weather.
Niantic wants people playing Pokemon Go outdoors and in groups. That’s been the whole directive of the game over the last few years, and has led to new features like Routes and Party Play. Niantic has also tried to get people to connect through the game with its Campfire app, encouraging people to make friends they can enjoy Pokemon Go with locally. To the company’s credit, it’s trying to make it easier for people to play the game the way it envisions. It would just be a lot more preferable if the company took things like time and weather into consideration, as well as players that might have disabilities that prevent them from actively playing the game outside.
What’s frustrating about these Gigantamax requirements is that Niantic has done a pretty nice job pulling off Max Raids up to this point. While I long assumed Niantic had plans to adapt Dynamax and Gigantamax into Pokemon Go, I wondered how effectively the feature could be pulled off. After all, the concept first originated in Pokemon Sword and Shield, and was meant to take advantage of TV mode on Switch; the idea being that big Pokemon could take advantage of a larger screen than we had seen with previous Pokemon generations. Niantic not only pulled it off, but the company animated Max Battles beautifully. The scale looks great, and the graphics are the best I’ve seen from Pokemon Go so far.
I’ll be very interested to see how Pokemon Go players react to Gigantamax battles when they actually go live in the game. On social media, it seems a lot of Pokemon Go players feel the same way that I do, and want Niantic to make these Gigantamax Raids more accessible. Maybe the high cost of entry will keep Gigantamax Pokemon a special part of the game, and players will come to accept the high requirements. It’s also possible Niantic is slightly exaggerating how many players will be needed, and Gigantamax Raids will be more manageable than the company claims. However, this already feels like when Mega Evolution was first introduced to the game. Niantic’s initial rollout of Mega Evolution was pretty terrible, and the company eventually came up with a solution that was a lot more enjoyable.
At some point, Niantic is going to have to realize that the player community it wants and the community it has are not the same. Pokemon Go players want to enjoy the game in ways that are easy and accessible, whether that means playing actively, or being able to enjoy the game from the comfort of their homes. The more Niantic tries to box players into a set experience, the more fans are going to be driven away. These competing visions for the game’s future have been a problem for years now, and it remains to be seen whether the two sides will be able to meet somewhere in the middle.
How do you feel about the Gigantamax requirements in Pokemon Go? Will you be able to find enough friends to complete these Max Raids? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!