Yesterday, as I was working through the GO Pass: April article, a weird thought struck my tired, Suicune obsessed brain. Is it just me or has Pokémon GO went from zero to god knows how many different loyalty reward tracks over night?
Well, maybe over night is not a fair statement, but the rise in monetisation strategies has been sudden. Just to be clear: this is not an article about monetisation and whether we want it or not, this is about how that monetisation is being implemented, and how I am confused about it.
Too many too similar options
Personally, I think we have too many similar reward programs/tickets that we can buy, and they all offer a similar thing.
The monthly Power Up Tickets are going strong, with a new Power Up Ticket going live every month. The idea behind these was kinda cute when they launched – you pay a monthly fee and you get bonuses like increase XP, more Candy XL, bonus Gift storage, etc.
The GO Pass and GO Pass Deluxe are now being tested across the globe, and judging by the test setup, Niantic is going seriously with this one. For around $8 USD per month, you will be able to unlock GO Pass Deluxe and get a lot of rewards for doing almost any in-game activity. This is your typical Game Pass.
And lastly, there is the Web Store exclusive Rewards Road that rewards you for spending money. Luckily, the track has pretty bad rewards and we hope that no one is going to really progress this intentionally.
And here is where the confusion kicks in – which one of these is actually worth your hard earned money? The answer is not clear, at least not to me, especially if you overlay all of this with regular event bonuses, event tickets, research tickets, and the upcoming GO Fest 2025 events.
There are too many ways to spend money in Pokémon GO, and none of them seem very straightforward. What I want is a single monthly subscription that I can buy, or not, and that’s it. Call it “Professor Willow’s Tax” and I will buy two of them.
The current state feels like at least one of these things is redundant, and to be frank, I am not going to spend a dime in-game before this becomes easier to grok. Luckily, at least nothing is being taken away from free-to-play, and nothing is locked behind a paywall.
Do you feel the same? Let us know on our social media, we are really curious about your thoughts on the topic!
