Leaks point to Niantic moving ahead with Pokémon Go’s controversial Remote Raid changes

Pokémon Go fans have been doing everything they can to convince Niantic not to go ahead with the controversial Remote Raid Pass changes since they were confirmed last week. The price increase and daily limit might not sound like much, but it’s a kick in the guts to players who have become increasingly dissatisfied with the direction Niantic is taking the game. 

So, in addition to boycotting the item shop and even quitting the title entirely, the fanbase has also started a movement on social media to make their final stand.

But despite their efforts, the fateful day of April 6, in which the changes come into effect, is drawing closer, and according to evidence found by dataminers, Niantic is still moving ahead with it.

Pokémners, who are among the most reputable dataminers in the community, found a string of code referring to Remote Raid Pass limits when sending or receiving friend requests after raids, as well as text notifying players they or their friends have reached their quotas.

As you’d expect, embittered players aren’t surprised, but they’re certainly not thrilled about it. “So they’re clearly still moving forward,” said one player. “Oh boy, they’re proceeding as planned,” added another.

“Imagine making a game that is about community and then not caring about the community,” said a particularly disheartened player while sharing a meme implying Niantic are clowns.

That is the key takeaway from it all. Niantic hasn’t seemed to pay any mind to the backlash and criticism over the changes, even though it has seemingly taken a toll on the player count—and that’s despite the fact it could spell disaster for them when the changes come into effect.