SAN FRANCISCO—JUNE 19, 2017—Niantic, Inc., and The Pokémon Company International today revealed dynamic new ways for Trainers to play and explore together this summer with significant updates to Pokémon GO. Beginning today, revamped Gyms will begin rolling out to players, while a later update will introduce a brand-new cooperative group gameplay feature, Raid Battles. These features will be added as free updates to the game, which can be downloaded now on the App Store and Google Play.
Coming soon to Trainers worldwide, Gyms in Pokémon GO are undergoing a major renovation to make ownership more collaborative, and to encourage all players to visit friendly Gyms and engage with them in a variety of new ways. The new Gyms will add a spinnable Photo Disc (just like PokéStops) that will distribute unique items. Trainers will also receive Gym Badges—mementos of adventures that they can level up, increased rewards, and bonus items at Gyms.
Gyms will now feature six permanent slots that can be filled by the controlling team’s Pokémon, and opposing teams will battle Pokémon in the order they were assigned to the Gym. The new motivation system introduces an interactive factor for Pokémon assigned to a Gym that will impact their potential Combat Power (CP). Pokémon defending a Gym will lose motivation over time and as they are defeated, lowering their CP and making it easier for opposing teams to defeat them. Trainers from the same team can give defending Pokémon some Berries to keep them motivated.
Raid Battles, the brand-new cooperative social gameplay experience, will be coming in another update in the weeks ahead. Trainers will have the opportunity to virtually team up with others nearby and work together to defeat extremely powerful Pokémon known as Raid Bosses. Raid Battles are timed in-game events that will temporarily take over a Gym, providing Trainers from all teams the chance to visit the Gym and group up together to defeat the Raid Boss and earn special new items along with an opportunity to catch these Pokémon. Friends can also create Private Raid groups via a customizable code system that allows Trainers to invite their friends to a specific Raid group.
To learn more about Pokémon GO’s new Gym update and upcoming Raid Battles feature, please visit the official Pokémon GO blog at PokemonGOLive.com.
Niantic and The Pokémon Company recently announced a variety of in-game and real-world activities that will bring Trainers together in new and unique ways this summer to celebrate Pokémon GO’s first anniversary. The first live Pokémon GO event organized by Niantic, Pokémon GO Fest, will be hosted in Chicago’s Grant Park on July 22. Tickets for Pokémon GO Fest will be on sale on June 19 at 10:00 a.m. PT at www.PokemonGoLive.com/Fest.
Trainers can also stay up-to-date on Pokémon GO announcements by following the game on Twitter or liking it on Facebook.
About Pokémon
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing and marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world. For more information, visit Pokemon.com.
About Niantic, Inc.
Niantic Inc. builds mobile real-world experiences that foster fun, exploration, discovery, and social interaction. Originally incubated within Google, Niantic Inc., spun out in 2015, with investments from Google, The Pokémon Company and Nintendo. The company’s immersive real-world mobile game Ingress has been downloaded more than 20 million times and is played in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Niantic also developed and published Pokémon GO, the real-world Pokémon game for iOS and Android mobile devices that was downloaded more than 750 million times in its first year. For more information on Niantic, visit www.nianticlabs.com.
