Pokémon Go players report mass exodus following remote raid controversy

Pokémon GO players have been reporting a drop in raid activity since an unpopular update from April 6 hindered the use of Remote Raid Passes.

Since Tapu Bulu temporarily joined Pokémon Raids in the latest event, multiple Reddit threads have appeared showing evidence of drops in player activity around them.

Some pointed out how the Pokie Genie app showed low numbers in remote raid parties for Tapu Bulu, while others made memes about how they couldn’t find players to team up with.

“Wait you don’t have 6 friends in your local area who can drop their lives with 30 min notice?” joked another, pointing out how inconvenient in-person raids were.

Related: Niantic addresses major Pokémon Go Special Research bug causing players to lose progress

With the update earlier this month, Niantic limited the number of daily Pass uses and increased their price in PokéCoins. It’s part of a general direction to favor in-person play that was confirmed by the developer when the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted.

Their stance was strengthened by rolling out events that prevent remote participation, such as Elite Raids. They feature time-limited appearances of special Pokémon in given days, and Raids don’t allow the use of Remote Raid Passes. It makes those events incredibly restrictive and controversial.

Community backlash has been raging since those updates went live, and it looks like players have started departing Pokémon GO.

Some even call this the ‘end phase’ for the game, years after its release, saying those changes purposefully affected the larger player base (who don’t put money into the game) while the developer is now focusing on its next big title, Monster Hunter Now.

Meanwhile, Niantic has shown no sign of backtracking Remote Raid Pass update and other changes hindering remote play for free-to-play users.