‘Pokemon Go’ Will Have a Gym Rework With Upcoming Update

(Niantic)

Niantic CEO John Hanke confirmed to Wired, in a German interview, that an upcoming update will overhaul the current gym system in Pokemon Go.

The current gym system revolves around tapping on your phone screen to defeat opposing Pokemon instead of the typical turn-based battles you see on the main handheld iterations of Pokemon.

“There is very limited gameplay in the arenas,” Hanke told Wired. “They simply do not work as well as we would wish. We will rework this aspect of the game so that there will be more teamwork and people will get more incentive and reward for participating.”

At the Mobile World Congress, Hanke said there were three more major updates coming for the game in 2017. The first update is here in the form of second generation Pokemon.

Hanke said he still sees the game as unfinished and there are several more things he’d like to add.

One of those possible additions are the original legendary birds: Moltres, Articuno and Zapdos. He told Wired Niantic was working on making it happen.

In addition, Niantic wants to finally deliver what many coaches have been waiting for since the first few weeks: the legendary Pokémon: Mewtwo, Mew and the three elemental birds assigned to the teams. “I can safely say we’ll see more of it this year,” says Hanke.

Hanke touched on quality of life changes in the article, such as the elimination of cheaters or at least making it harder for them to do it.

Currently, there is still a big problem with cheaters in Pokémon Go. Niantic will also get a grip on this. Many players still fake their GPS with special apps to play from home. “I do not believe it’s a user’s fault if an app or website offers an abbreviation. It is our responsibility to prevent these things or not make them harder than they are at the moment, “says Hanke.

Niantic is working on adding the ability to trade Pokemon to the game as well. Senior Product Manager Tatsuo Nomura told Polygon about the upcoming feature.

“[Trading] won’t be through the internet,” he said of the mechanic, which remains in development and heavily under wraps. “You shouldn’t be able to exchange your Pokémon with someone who is 100 miles away from you. … The person needs to be in your proximity.”

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