‘Pokemon Go’ is available now for iOS and Android devices. (Nintendo)
It’s been over 48 hours since Niantic announced that the new Pokemon Go update was beginning to roll out, but the vast majority of players still don’t have it.
This update is so highly anticipated because it features the new “buddy system,” which gives trainers the ability to walk a Pokemon throughout their gameplay. Doing so will unlock candy at certain kilometer intervals, similar to the way the game tracks distance for hatching eggs.
On Saturday, Niantic announced on Facebook that the buddy system was ready. It was expected that it would take a few days to reach most players, as Niantic typically releases these updates in phases so that some phones get them before others.
But the result was a full weekend of many Pokemon Go fans frantically checking their app stores to no avail, with very few getting the update as of Monday morning. Many of these players have grown angry with Niantic, arguing that they shouldn’t announce the release of an update so long before it actually goes online.
“Niantic is the most tone-deaf developer I have ever had the displeasure of playing a game from,” another Reddit user complained. “…And this roll-out of updates is extremely frustrating for everyone. It’s absolutely mind-boggling how awful they have managed this game in every single way.”
Hopefully, many more players will begin receiving the buddy system later today, as it often takes Apple about 48 hours to approve a game’s update.