Niantic finally responds to trainer feedback with increased spawn rates across Pokémon Go

The prayers of many Pokémon Go trainers across the globe have been answered, as Niantic finally confirmed that Wild Pokémon encounters are getting updated in a rare W move by the company.

In a recent Pokémon Go blog post focused on the Unova Tour events coming up over February and March, Niantic subtly mentioned that there would be “updates to Pokémon encounters” in an “effort to improve access to gameplay for trainers in the lead up to Go Tour (Unova).”

With this update, trainers will see an abundance of new Pokémon appearing in places that otherwise didn’t have many Pokémon spawns. These places include, according to Niantic, “densely populated, rural suburban, or rapidly expanding areas.” Niantic hasn’t indicated how big the spawns will be but has promised trainers they will see an increase in both Pokémon encounters and areas where Pokémon appear.

The update will come out in the lead-up to the Go Tour: Unova event, so we expect to see a slow increase in Pokémon encounters throughout February. However, Niantic hasn’t clearly indicated when this might be on the blog post.

On top of the spawn changes, Niantic confirmed details about a visual update to the Pokédex just in time for Go Tour: Unova. This will help trainers quickly identify which Pokémon they already have and why they have yet to collect. No timeline was given in the blog post either, only saying it’ll come before Go Tour: Unova.

While there are a lot of details about how increased wild spawns will be implemented, rural players, in particular, have been crying out for more Pokémon spawns in their areas, where it only feels like a handful spawn at a time. The outcry has been ongoing for a while, with Pokémon Go’s director, Michael Steranka, committing to it and other wild Pokémon issues during Pokémon Go Fest Madrid in June 2024.

To many of these forgotten rural players, Niantic’s commitment to increase spawns will likely come as a huge sigh of relief. Of course, it’s one of many problems the game has had in their eyes for some time now, but it’s a small step in the right direction. The news also follows a recent small W from Niantic, where the team finally allowed trainers to use Remote Raid Passes in local Shadow Raids during the Ho-Oh event from Jan. 18 to 19.